Outer Banks is coming to an end, but the fictional world is still growing with a prequel and a spinoff.
The hit Netflix series, which premiered in 2020, introduced the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide was focused on the Kooks, a.k.a. the wealthy residents, and the working-class crew known as the Pogues. The search for a lost treasure caused the two squads to be even more at odds, while a found family formed between the friend group at the center of the show.
Outer Banks catapulted stars Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Drew Starkey, Carlacia Grant and Austin North to fame before Netflix confirmed in November 2024 that season 5 would be the show’s last.
“We are excited for season 5, and we’re excited for other stories in this universe down the line,” the executive producers said during an interview with Deadline about the future of Outer Banks. While the trio wouldn’t elaborate on their plans for the fictional universe, the outlet reported that no projects are currently in the works but offshoots are being explored.
Fans already know about The Runarounds, which was ordered by Prime Video but will explore a teen band that originated on Outer Banks. Meanwhile, Netflix will remain in the treasure-hunting game through a potential prequel titled Kildare.
Keep scrolling for a comprehensive guide to the entire Outer Banks universe:
‘Outer Banks’
After premiering in 2020, Outer Banks quickly found its audience and the show continued to break streaming records for Netflix. Outer Banksmade a controversial decision ahead of its final season when Pankow’s fan-favorite character, JJ, died.
‘The Runarounds’
Based on a teleplay from Jonas Pate and David Wilcox, the fictional series will follow the real band of the same name featuring William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock and Jesse Golliher.
Fans of Outer Banks might recognize The Runarounds after they appeared on an episode of the show in 2023. The Runarounds were seen in the background playing at an anniversary party for the parents of Kiara (Bailey).
Pate confirmed in December 2024 that Prime Video already ordered a second season before the show even premiered.
Pate revealed in December 2024 that he was writing a prequel to Outer Banks titled Kildare. The series is still in the early stages but would feature a whole new set of young actors and focus on the founding of each group in the show’s fictional Figure 8 town.
Not all shows have stuck to their original premise over the years — in fact some changed their central story lines on purpose.
Family Matters is a great example since it shifted its cast. The sitcom, which aired from 1989 to 1998, was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers that followed a middle-class Black family living in Chicago. The hit sitcom starredReginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Darius McCrary, Kellie Williams, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure and Michelle Thomas.
Jaleel White joined Family Matters halfway through the first season.
“My performance was so well received during that initial episode that they began writing me into the next episode,” White recalled in his November 2024 memoir, Growing Up Urkel. “They even reshot new teasers for the season that featured me prominently, as if l’d been an original cast member all along.”
Meanwhile, Westworld writers enjoyed not being confined to a specific story line. (The dystopian show initially pulled inspiration from the 1973 film of the same name before evolving the story.)
“One of the fun things about me for the show, when [producer] Lisa [Joy] and I were talking about it way back when, was the ability of this show to shift genres every season, and the invitation to do it,” creator Jonathan Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2020. “We felt we had an open invitation to play around, especially in this moment where TV is reinventing itself constantly, to have a show that reinvents itself season after season.”
At the time, Nolan highlighted that the genre changed from one season to the next. “You have a Western, you have a samurai movie, you have war movies, you have science-fiction. There are all of the different versions of the future you have seen over the years in movies,” he added. “We get to play around with all of that, and make text of all of that. So the idea that next season will feel different and distinct in genre from the previous seasons? Yes, that’s absolutely part of the structure of the show.”
Keep scrolling for more shows that changed their premise between seasons:
‘Twin Peaks’ (ABC)
The Original Vision: The series, which ran from 1990 to 1991, followed an investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The series developed a cult following in part because of its campy storytelling — and creator David Lynch and Mark Frost‘s unique vision.
Where the Show Ended Up: According to Lynch, there was never any plan to reveal who killed Laura. But after the network forced the show to answer that mystery, Twin Peaks had to pivot to a larger conversation about good and evil.
The Original Vision: The season started out in a futuristic theme park with androids that look like humans staging a rebellion.
Where the Show Ended Up: As the show continued to air, the hosts were brought into the outside world and became integrated within human society.
‘iZombie’ (The CW)
The Original Vision: Based on a DC comic book series of the same name, iZombie was a take on a supernatural police procedural that had Liv Moore (Rose McIver) eating brains from people who were murdered to help the authorities figure out what happened to them.
Where the Show Ended Up: The third season introduced a major change when a zombie-run private military organization forced everyone in Seattle into a zombie state. As a result, Liv traded working at the morgue into a job where she smuggled people in and helped them complete their transformation into zombies.
‘Mom’ (CBS)
The Original Vision: The Chuck Lorre-produced sitcom originally introduced three generations of mothers. Anna Faris played Christy, who found out her teenage daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), was pregnant. While attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Christy ran into her estranged mother Bonnie (Allison Janney), who also battled substance abuse problems.
Where the Show Ended Up: Christy’s attempts to raise her two kids with Bonnie’s help quickly fizzled out. Instead, the show pivoted to Christy, Bonnie and their group of friends from AA. This dynamic shifted again when Farris left the series during season 8.
‘Riverdale’ (The CW)
The Original Vision: Based on the iconic Archie Comics, the teen drama initially focused on a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that existed within their town.
Where the Show Ended Up: Riverdale didn’t wait long to push boundaries with their storylines, which ranged from cults to killer board games to time travel.
The Original Vision: The first season of Saved by the Bell was actually titled Good Morning, Miss Bliss and starred Hayley Mills as a junior high school teacher navigating complicated situations with help from the students in her eighth grade class.
Where the Show Ended Up: Good Morning, Miss Blisswas ultimately retooled into Saved by the Bell, which changed the setting from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and recast many of the roles to focus on the students.
‘Scream Queens’ (Fox)
The Original Vision: The slasher series, which premiered in 2015, starred an ensemble cast that included Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Glen Powell and Keke Palmer. During the show’s first season, Scream Queens focused on members of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority that were getting killed off by the mysterious Red Devil killer.
Where the Show Ended Up: Season 2 shook things up by having the satirical anthology introduce the Green Meanie that targeted a hospital and its staff — which included many of the cast members from the first season. Stars such as Kirstie Alley, Taylor Lautner, John Stamos and James Earl III rounded out the sophomore season.
‘Scrubs’ (NBC)
The Original Vision: Scrubs debuted in 2001 as a medical comedy focused on the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital. More specifically, it was about J.D.’s (Zach Braff) journey from naive med school grad to confident physician.
Where the Show Ended Up: After season 8, ABC renewed the show for a surprise season, which took Scrubs from a hospital to medical school.
‘Cougar Town’ (ABC)
The Original Vision: Created by Bill Lawrence in 2009, Cougar Town introduced Courteney Cox as a single mother named Jules who decided to get back into dating by spending time with men younger than her.
Where the Show Ended Up: Before the first scene was even over, Jules found love with her neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) — who happened to be her own age. Cougar Town then pivoted to a show about a friend group in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida. Since Cougar Town couldn’t change its title, the opening credits would usually suggest other options as a joke.
The Original Vision: Family Matters was a spinoff of ABC’s Perfect Strangers with Carl (VelJohnson) and Harriette (Payton) at the helm for the first few episodes.
Where the Show Ended Up: White joined Family Matters in 1989 — halfway through the first season — as the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. The role was only meant to last one episode, but Urkel became a breakout character that paved the way for White to join the main cast.
‘Kevin Can Wait’ (CBS)
The Original Vision: The sitcom, which premiered in 2016, initially followed a newly retired police officer Kevin (Kevin James), his wife Donna (Erinn Hayes) and their three kids. Kevin Can Wait showed Kevin and Donna navigating life after their daughter Kendra dropped out of college to support her new fiancé.
Where the Show Ended Up: Kevin Can Wait took a major risk when Hayes’ character was written off in between seasons. After killing Donna off, the show replaced Hayes with James’ former The King of Queens costar, Leah Remini, as the new female lead. While the first season centered on Kevin’s family life, the sophomore season had Kevin focusing on his new career, partnership with Vanessa (Remini) and life as a single parent.
Kevin Can Waitwas canceled after two seasons and the outrage over Hayes’ shocking departure inspired AMC’s dramedy Kevin Can F**k Himself.
The Secret Circle has ended, but the show’s stars including Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker and Phoebe Tonkin have remained on our screens.
The CW initially found success in 2009 when it adapted L.J. Smith‘s The Vampire Diaries book series. Two years later, the network expanded with Smith’s The Secret Circle. Set in the fictional town of Chance Harbor, Washington, the series focused on Cassie Blake who — after moving to town following her mother’s murder — discovered she is a hereditary witch and became the sixth member of a secret coven.
Despite becoming The CW’s third-highest rated performer, The Secret Circle was canceled after one season. Fans attempted to bring the show back with various campaigns but The Secret Circle wasn’t brought back — yet.
“A movie, a play, a commercial campaign for crystals, you name it,” Miller told Book Trib in 2012. “[Production company] Alloy [Entertainment] asked me if I had any interest in trying a lower budget version of the show that could be done on Netflix and I pitched them an idea I really loved and would’ve done in a second.”
He continued: “Following [Shelley Hennig]’s Diana after the finale to California, where she was alone and confused and struggling between her good nature and the dark magic she just accessed to kill her father. My dream was to set her life up in California, then bring in [Phoebe Tonkin]’s Faye to mess it up.”
The Secret Circle ended up one of many short-lived shows on The CW but the cast has continued to document their reunions over the years. Keep scrolling to see where the cast of The Secret Circle is now:
After playing newly-revealed witch Cassie, Robertson remained a memorable face on the small screen with leading roles on Under the Dome, For the People, Big Sky and The Rookie: Feds. Robertson has also appeared in The First Time, The Longest Ride, A Dog's Purpose, I Still Believe and The Merry Gentlemen.
The actress dated Logan Henderson, Dylan O'Brien and Graham Rogers before finding love with Paul Floyd. The couple got engaged in 2022 before tying the knot one year later.
The Secret Circle made Us care about Adam thanks to Dekker's performance. He has since booked roles on Backstrom, The Rookie and Star Trek: Picard. On the big screen, Dekker appeared in Enter the Dangerous Mind, Squatters, Fear Clinic, Miss Bala, Body Brokers and Little Dixie.
Dekker, who has been married to Jesse Haddock since 2017, transitioned to music with albums including Into the Night and Tasma.
Tonkin played fan-favorite Faye on The Secret Circle before remaining on The CW with a role on The Originals. She’s also starred on Safe Harbour, Bloom, Westworld and Boy Swallows Universe. On the big screen, Tonkin may look familiar because of appearances in The Ever After, Babylon and Night Shift.
In addition to winning Us over as Diana, Hennig appeared on Teen Wolf, Dollface, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window and Obliterated. Hennig has also been in several movies including Ouija, Unfriended, When We First Met, Teen Wolf: The Movie and Cult Killer.
Hennig dated Jay Kenneth Johnson from 2007 to 2012 and has previously been linked to Ben McKenzie.
Kennedy played Melissa on The Secret Circle and after the show's cancellation, Kennedy moved on with roles on Black Sails, The Flash and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
After several years of dating, Kennedy exchanged vows with Ronen Rubinstein in 2022. They expanded their family with a son in 2024.
The first season of The Secret Circle introduced Hunter as Nick. Since then, Hunter has appeared on The Fosters, On the Ropes and The One. Hunter starred in Jack Goes Home and The Honor Farm.
He has been married to Bella Dayne since 2017.
The actor joined The Secret Circle later in the first season as Jake. Zylka has also appeared on The Leftovers and Dare Me. On the big screen, Dare Me scored roles in The Amazing Spider-Man, Freaks of Nature, Novitiate and The Death & Life of John F. Donovan.
Zylka dated Lucy Hale for nine months before their 2012 split. He was engaged to model Hanna Beth Merjos from 2014 to 2015. After several years of dating, Zylka got engaged to Paris Hilton in 2018. They called it quits later that year.
In December 2024, Zylka was reportedly charged with multiple felonies following an altercation with the police in Warren, Ohio.
Henstridge played Faye's mother, Dawn, before scoring roles on Selfie, Beauty & the Beast and Diggstown. On the big screen, Henstridge has appeared in The Black Room, The Unhealer, This Game's Called Murder, 7th Secret and Cinderella's Revenge.
Henstridge was married to Damian Chapa from 1995 to 1996. She moved on with Liam Waite and they were together from 1996 to 2004. After expanding their family with two sons, the couple called it quits and Henstridge found love with Darius Campbell. The pair exchanged vows in 2011 and called it quits two years later.
Harold brought the role of Charles to life and has since appeared on Defiance, Criminal Minds and Equal. He also starred in Echo Park, Andron: The Black Labyrinth, Kiss Me, Kill Me and Weepah Way for Now.
Aidan Turner caught everyone’s attention when he stripped down on Rivals — and he is now breaking down why he wanted Declan’s body to look authentic on screen.
“He’s a dad and he’s a journalist so I think it’d be a bit weird [to make him look too sculpted],” Turner, 41, exclusively told Us Weekly about his approach to those shirtless scenes. “I’ve often seen actors in films or TV shows where their character’s job doesn’t necessarily call for them to be [very buff]. So you see them naked and you are going, ‘Hold on a second, I know what that takes. I know the hours, the dieting and the strenuous physical activity. I know you don’t have time for that.'”
Turner didn’t want fans to question whether Declan’s appearance was too perfect after seeing him at his most chiseled in Poldark.
“I didn’t want it to be one of those moments where it’s just a TV body. I want it to feel real,” he noted. “I tend to keep fairly in shape. So the pressure was all me. And we were really lucky because we had these amazing intimacy coordinators [for the show’s NSFW scenes].”
He continued: “Our concern is that we get the shot. But I think certainly most of my peers in this show don’t really get too self conscious. We kind of just get on with it. We knew what we were getting into. If you’re signing up for a Jilly Cooper show, you know what world you’re stepping into. Sex is part of it and if there’s more then there’d be more.”
Based on British author Cooper’s novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu’s Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. Rivals stars an ensemble cast that includes Turner, David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Bella MacLean, Nafessa Williams, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.
“It’s always lovely [to hear how well-received the show and Declan is]. Any actor who says he doesn’t want to hear nice things like that, I don’t believe them. It’s always nice to hear those things, especially in the early days of a show being released,” Turner told Us about the positive reception to the show. “I’ve been aware of how it’s been received in this country [in the U.K.], which has been really positive.”
Now that Rivalshas been renewed for season 2, Turner is excited to keep giving the fans what they want.
“There’s a funny thing that happens when you’ve done a fair bit of work over 20 years. You land the plane on some things and some you completely miss the airport,” he quipped. “When you do land the plane, you start hearing from people that you’ve not heard from in a little while. My friends whom I haven’t spoken to in months have just emailed me saying they love the show. And it’s like, ‘Wow, it must be really touching people.”
Turner, who is not on social media himself but hears about the buzz secondhand, feels very grateful for the outpouring of support, adding, “But not having the social media element, it does keep you very much out of the loop. But I love to hear that it’s being received on a really positive level. … I suppose to some degree it is always still a surprise when people respond to a show and really like it.”
He concluded: “Being an actor there is a lot of disappointment and some shows you think will travel that don’t — and you get confused by that. I just gave up years ago trying to figure out what the business wants and what the markets pick. So it’s so lovely to hear you say these things though [about the support]. It puts a real smile on my face.”
Rivals is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.
For more reasons why Turner is one of the people we are googling shirtless this week, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
The passion for TV shows such as Outer Banks, My Lady Jane, NCIS: Hawai’i and more has resulted in committed fan-led efforts following disappointing cancellations and shocking character deaths.
My Lady Jane is a prime example. Based on several historical novels, My Lady Janewas a radical reimagining of Lady Jane Grey’s (Emily Bader) very brief time as monarch after King Henry VIII’s son Edward (Jordan Peters) died of tuberculosis. In this version, Jane and her husband, Guildford (Edward Bluemel), aren’t beheaded and Edward isn’t killed off.
The chemistry between Jane and Guildford was the highlight of 2024 — but apparently not for Prime Video who axed only seven weeks after it premiered in June 2024. It didn’t take long for fans to jump in to advocate for the show’s return either on the streaming service or elsewhere.
“The cast and crew have very clearly poured their whole hearts and souls into this project, creating a series that resonates deeply with its audience. Being the only show both by and for women on Prime Video, My Lady Jane is precisely what female viewers want and need. To cut this story short now feels not only premature but also heartbreakingly unjust,” read the mission statement on the campaign website. “Well, as devoted fans to the show, we simply cannot and will not stand for this! So, the fight starts here!”
While Outer Banks certainly doesn’t seem to struggle with ratings, fans came together to address JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) shocking death in season 4. Since it happened right after the show introduced an ancient crown that could supposedly bring people back to life, viewers used that as inspiration for their own fan-led project.
Keep scrolling for more fan-led TV show campaigns — both successful and the ones currently in the works:
‘Outer Banks’
Madison Bailey as Kiara, Rudy Pankow as JJ in ‘Outer Banks.’
JJ’s death hit fans hard and that rage turned into billboards, a petition and more ongoing efforts to have Pankow reprise the role despite the fan-favorite character’s death.
‘My Lady Jane’
Edward Bluemel as Lord Guildford Dudley, Emily Bader as Lady Jane Grey, in ‘My Lady Jane’.
The most shocking TV cancellation of 2024 definitely goes to My Lady Jane. After not giving the show more than a few weeks to find an audience, Prime Video chose not to renew the show for a second season. My Lady Jane, however, did have a fanbase that came out in droves to advocate for its return.
‘The Acolyte’
Before the Star Wars series was even cancelled, fans were brainstorming campaigns out of concern. The Acolyte was ultimately not renewed for a second season by Disney despite decent viewership — and acclaim from critics.
‘Vampire Academy’
An adaptation from Julie Plec about a show with vampires and fictional ships with exceptional chemistry should have been an easy renewal. Instead, Peacock gave up one season — to the outrage of the audience. This resulted in several endeavors from the fans in an effort to bring the supernatural series back.
Just as fans were getting everything they wanted, Paramount+ took the iCarly revival away from them. Not only that, the last episode ended on a major cliffhanger that served as the motivation for an ongoing campaign. The cast and crew have joined in because of their love for iCarly.
‘NCIS: Hawai’i’
After CBS abruptly axed NCIS: Hawai’i, fans created a petition to get the network to change their minds. The network stood by their decision after pulling the plug on Blue Bloods too, which was another hit series at CBS.
‘Manifest’
NBC was Manifest’s original home before it pulled the plug on the show in 2021. Fans and show creators campaigned hard for the show’s return — and Netflix responded by reviving Manifest for a fourth and final season that topped the streaming platform’s Top 10 list of content.
‘Lucifer’
Following three seasons on Fox, Lucifer briefly came to an end. A Twitter campaign motivated Netflix to save the show for three more seasons, which consistently earned high viewership for the streaming service.
‘One Day at a Time’
The sitcom, which was based on the 1975 series of the same name, lasted three seasons on Netflix before being canceled. Viewers advocated for more episodes and that led to Pop TV reviving One Day at a Time for season 4.
Veronica Mars was canceled by the CW after its second season — but not for long. Fans raised $7,000 to have a plane fly over the studio with a banner and that resulted in one more season. Later a Kickstarter campaign raised $2 million, which funded the Veronica Mars feature film and that paved the way for Hulu’s short-lived revival season.
‘Timeless’
Online support caused NBC to walk back their cancellation of Timeless three days after announcing their initial decision. The series ultimately ended again one season later.
‘Friday Night Lights’
Another NBC show that nearly didn’t run as long as it should have was Friday Night Lights. The ratings for season 2 (after the writer’s strike contributed to some wonky scripts) forced the network to cut ties but they reconsidered after receiving an influx of letters from the audience. The “Light’s Out” campaign, which also featured light bulbs being sent to NBC, resulted in three more seasons and a deal with DirecTV to air the episodes first.
‘Arrested Development’
Fans mailed bananas and letters to Fox after Arrested Developmentwas canceled by Fox. That briefly saved the show for one more season and it later was revived on Netflix.
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
Fox pulled the plug on Brooklyn Nine-Nine after five seasons and that promptly caused social media backlash. Thanks to the #SaveBrooklyn99 campaign, NBC picked the show up from Fox one day later.
The phrase “six seasons and a movie” wouldn’t exist if not for Community. After five seasons on NBC, fans kicked off campaigns that included a themed art gallery and a convention. This allowed for Community to have a sixth and final season — and a move is in the works.
‘The Expanse’
Prime Video saved The Expanse once Syfy made the decision to cancel the show. The #SaveTheExpanse campaign included viewers sending emails and a plane to fly over the studio.
‘Warrior Nun’
Two seasons wasn’t enough for fans, who fought for Warrior Nun‘s upcoming three-movie deal.
Jason Segel has thought about where his Freaks and Geeks character, Nick Andopolis, would be today — but the answer is tragic.
“In my mind, he gets sent off to war and doesn’t make it,” Segel, 44, told GQ on Wednesday, December 18. “That was always like the threat looming for Nick, and that’s what happens to a lot of men of that generation and socioeconomic status.”
Segel kept that in mind when originally playing Nick in NBC’s short-lived series, adding, “That’s always how I was thinking of playing him. For Nick, the desperation in his character is that the alternative is not making it. That’s how he felt, like, ‘I’m gonna drum my way out of this.’ How sad, because you’re not going to drum your way out of it.”
Freaks and Geeks, which was developed by Judd Apatow and Paul Feig, premiered in 1999 and was set in a 1980s Detroit suburb. The series followed teenager Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), who fell into a crowd of slacker “freaks,” and her brother Sam (John Francis Daley), who attempted to navigate high school life with his “geek” friends.
Despite not lasting long, Freaks and Geeksdeveloped a cult fanbase.
Jason Segel
“Even to this day, I think I didn’t want to admit that Freaks and Geeks was cancelled,” Apatow said during a 2014 talk at the Paley Center. “Everything I’ve done, in a way, is revenge for the people who canceled Freaks and Geeks.”
Freaks and Geeks helped develop Segel’s career, who has continued to book comedic roles in hit shows such as How I Met Your Mother and Shrinking. Behind the scenes, Segel was just as in-demand, with a writer for Freaks and Geeks previously revealing she had a crush on the actor.
“While I adored most of the actors [on Freaks and Geeks], I became especially close with Jason Segel. He played Nick, the drummer freak who is Lindsay’s love interest,” Patty Lin wrote in her 2023 memoir, End Credits: How I Broke Up With Hollywood. “Only 19 at the time, he wasn’t the type that made girls swoon, but he was cute. He had warm brown eyes, a goofy smile and a tall, lanky frame — like, basketball player tall. In fact, he used to play basketball, just like his character.”
It didn’t take long for Lin to develop a connection with Segal — even though she already had a boyfriend.
“That was when I started having feelings for Jason, despite our nine-year age gap and the fact that I already had a boyfriend,” she recalled. “We talked about acting and writing, our career goals, his fear of fame, our love of privacy and the need for solitude. It was the kind of conversation that makes you fall in love with someone. Judd [Apatow] once told me he’d had a conversation like that in the car with the actress Leslie Mann, when they were working on the Cable Guy. They ended up married.”
Segal ended up politely turning Lin down before he started dating Cardellini, now 49. After their split in 2007, Segel was linked to Bojana Novakovic and later Alexis Mixter, whom he dated from 2013 to 2021. He is currently dating professional dancer Kayla Radomski.
Shay, 39, mentioned Vanderpump’s recent appearance on Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” podcast, sharing on the Friday, December 20, episode of her “Scheananigans” podcast, “One thing was the host brought up Kristen’s exciting pregnancy news and Lisa’s response was, ‘Do we know who the dad is?'”
Vanderpump’s response didn’t sit well with Shay. “I just want to say — with all due respect — it was kind of shady,” Shay called the “unprofessional” humor. “It is super shady. But especially because Lisa is a producer on The Valley.”
Since The Valley is a spinoff of Vanderpump Rules, Shay assumes that Vanderpump, 64, is familiar with Doute’s fiancé.
“Like you know who Luke [Broderick] is. You know he’s a cast member on this show,” Shay continued. “This season, they get engaged. And if you don’t know who someone is on a show that you’re producing, then why is your name in the credits as a producer?”
Vanderpump admitted to Access Hollywood that she “never talks” to Doute, 41,. The duo previously shared the screen on Vanderpump Rules before Doute was fired from the show in 2020 — and they haven’t publicly spoken since then.
“I hadn’t heard that [Kristen is pregnant]. How on Earth did that happen? Who’s the father? Do we know?” Vanderpump said earlier this month. “Oh, she’s getting married? I’m really not very involved in The Valley even though I’m a producer.”
Shay slammed how Vanderpump answered the question.
“It’s just a paycheck [for Lisa] basically,” she added on Friday. “Knowing the struggles that Kristen has openly shared — on her path to becoming a mother and her pregnancy loss — even if you don’t like someone, it’s just kind of distasteful on this topic of motherhood. How hard is it to say I wish her best?”
While reflecting on Doute and Vanderpump’s feud, Shay explained why she thought they were still at odds, adding, “I feel like because Kristen has always stood up to her and has never just bowed down and been like, ‘OK, Lisa is the boss and producer.’ Like she’s going to tell her how she feels. Whereas I’m going to be nice and respectful and just like, ‘Yes, ma’am, OK. Jump, how high?'”
Doute is currently expecting a baby girl with Broderick, Us Weekly exclusively broke news of their engagement earlier this month. After their gender reveal, Doute spoke with Usabout getting ready to expand her family with Broderick.
“I guessed wrong 100 percent of the time when it came to my friends’ pregnancies and not shockingly, I wasn’t right for mine either,” she quipped. “Luke was made to be a girl dad.”
The Stranger Things cast has been showing fans how much fun they are having while filming the show’s final season.
Viewers were introduced to the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, when Stranger Things debuted in 2016. The series focuses on a fictional town where a series of supernatural events cause mystery and mayhem. After appearing on the show, the main cast including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery quickly became household names.
“I don’t share, but I’m having a really good time,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2024. “I have friends now that will text me and go, ‘Where are you? Or you can’t say?’ But that’s out of respect and love for the Duffer brothers.”
“I keep things very tight, very close to the vest. I don’t tell anyone I know anything,” Gelman explained to Us in July 2024, adding that his loved ones “know not to” ask him what happens on the show ahead of time. “And a lot of people in my personal life don’t want to know. They want to be surprised when it comes out. They don’t want it ruined.”
The cast and crew wrapped production on season 5 in December 2024. Keep scrolling for the rare behind-the-scenes glimpses that Stranger Things fans have gotten so far:
During an Amazon Live on Thursday, December 19, Kent, 34, explained why she thought her breaking the fourth wall contributed to the changes happening on Vanderpump Rules.
“I do often wonder if I would’ve kept my mouth shut — like, if a producer wouldn’t have stepped in and told me that I’m allowed to say the things that I said off-camera about filming — if the show would’ve been able to go on,” Kent noted. “Or if I was just the final nail in the coffin. I guess we’ll never know.”
The reality star claimed she wasn’t as upset about her time on VPR coming to an end. (Bravo announced in November that season 12 of Vanderpump Rules would return after a brief hiatus — but with an entirely new cast.)
“I’ve spoken about this many times, so I apologize if I’m boring you,” she continued. “I felt like I started mourning Vanderpump Rules the moment I purged on that finale. So not only did I know it was coming to an end after that, but I feel like the moment we started filming season 11 it was going to be the last.”
Katie Maloney, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, Lisa Vanderpump, James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, and Scheana Shay.
Kent added: “It just felt like there was nothing — it was broken. It was very broken. So I feel OK with it. I feel very much at peace.”
Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules picked up months after Madix’s split from Tom Sandoval due to his affair with Rachel “Raquel” Leviss. Kent initially sided with Madix, 39, but ultimately shocked viewers during the finale when she broke the fourth wall by slamming Madix for not filming with Sandoval, 42.
“I was livid and I am sorry if I hurt you but I stand by what I said [during the finale],” Kent said during the May reunion special. “Why does she get to dictate how this goes down when I’ve never gotten to dictate?”
Madix, meanwhile, stood her ground about showing the authentic aspect of her life. “Arguably, if you want to talk in show terms, me walking away from that conversation was a lot more interesting than me sitting there and having it [with Sandoval],” she added. “Was that not a better ending to your season? To give you another season for another paycheck?”
Madix continued: “It hurts my feelings a lot because I was trying so hard. I feel like it is our job to live our lives and I am living authentically walking away from that. I could have done it for the show but I don’t think our show thrives when we aren’t fully real. And that was not real on my part.”
Ariana Madix (L) and Lala Kent attend CAA Kickoff Party for The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend at The Henri on April 28, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kent continued to throw digs on various podcast appearances where she accused Madix of not pulling her weight. After receiving backlash, Kent only issued an apology for referring to fans that didn’t agree with her as rabid.
“Filming this season was bittersweet,” Kent said on her “Give Them Lala” podcast that same month. “Reliving it was — in my opinion — one of the most difficult things or difficult seasons that I’ve ever had. I stopped talking about this season because I have to be honest, I was seeing things on social [media].”
Kent said it took time for her to accept that her reality was different from public opinion.
“This was the first season in my eight years of doing the show that my show reality and my reality could not coexist. They had to be so separate that if one touched the other, it took me out,” she detailed. “So what I want to do right now is focus on the facts of things. My feelings are not facts. But what I can tell you is this show is based on perspective. That’s a fact. The cast is going to have a perspective. The audience is going to have a perspective.”
Kent concluded: “Because the cast having an opinion allows us to make a show, and the audience having an opinion allows us to make a show. The combination of those two things has allowed Vanderpump Rules to be a successful show for the past 11 years. Fact. I want you guys to know that this show is something I am extremely grateful for.”
“Once you catch a whiff, that’s biology’s way of letting you know you need to clean it up,” Bell added on The View. “There’s a red flag, because honestly, it’s just bacteria. And once you get the bacteria, you gotta be like, ‘Get in the tub or the shower.'”
Scroll down for more celebs who felt comfortable sharing their shower routines with the world:
“My husband’s very neat, which people wouldn’t expect from someone who’s a musician,” Brittany Furlan said on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast in December 2024. “They would expect him to be a f---ing nightmare, like, dirty. He doesn’t shower a lot, but he’s very neat.”
Furlan explained that Lee justified his position that he is “not big on the showers” because while he was “growing up” in Athens, Greece, where bathing on a daily basis was not a priority.
“He said … that’s a thing in Europe. You don’t need to shower every day,” she said. “They would just do the white washcloth if they felt like they were getting a little funky. My husband showers, like, once a week.”
When Lee doesn’t feel the need to take a proper shower, he’ll go for a “bird bath,” which typically involves using soap, a washcloth and a sink.
During a December 2023 episode of her eponymous talk show, Clarkson discussed shower etiquette with guest Kenan Thompson.
"Here's the thing. I don't regularly brush my teeth in the shower. I just do if I'm in a hurry," she told Thompson. "Now, I do happen to be in a hurry often."
Clarkson went on to ask Thompson whether he pees in the shower, to which he said, "I would lie if I said I had never done it, but I try not to."
Meanwhile, Clarkson admitted that she pees "almost every time" when she's in the shower. “No, but you can't help it. It goes back to that childhood sleepover, they put your hand in the hot water, and sometimes you pee,” she added. “The hot water hits your body and — not every time, but, like, if I've gotta go."
The coanchors were joined by Today’s editorial director Arianna Davis to debate popular shower questions in July 2023. Davis asked the women, “Should you wash your feet — and not just take a shower, but should you actually get down there and wash your feet while in the shower?” Kotb and Hager both agreed, “No.”
Kotb continued, “Everything’s just rolling on down that way, anyway.”
In July 2023, Ferrera opened up about her guilty pleasure. “I’m going to really regret saying this … “It’s not showering for a few days,” she told Vanity Fair.
The Late Late Show With James Corden host revealed in May 2022 that his showers last less than five minutes — partly because he only washes his hair "about every two months."
The Broadway vet is “in and out in like a solid three or four” minutes, he explained, although he did note that he used soap.
“I thought, ‘America is not gonna dig deep into this and want all the intel on how often people bathe, right?’ Because there are much more important topics,” the actress told Access Hollywood in August 2021, noting how “funny” it was that she was asked about her bathing habits when her husband’s podcast kickstarted the conversation.
Bell insisted that Shepard, Kutcher and Kunis were “joking” about their kids’ shower routines, adding, “The world took it seriously, so I lost a lot of faith in the human race.”
The Frozen actress addressed her own playful comments about how often her kids bathe during an interview with Entertainment Tonight the same month.
"We were just talking about this because there has to be a rule for everybody and it's like, 'No, there doesn't.' You know, everyone is different," she explained. "Like, if you have a workout, shower, if you want to go a couple days without [a shower], great. If you have bad hygiene, that's not on me. And if I have bad hygiene, I am going to go ahead and be honest with you, it’s not your business. I think people maybe need a little bit of a lesson of what is a joke and what is not. Because now people are acting like this is an actual Supreme Court case."
In August 2021, the performer reposted an article about Matthew McConaughey not wearing deodorant via her Instagram Stories and noted that she "stopped using deodorant" too and has since smelled "BETTER."
"First of all, if you ain't been sweating, you don't need to shower," the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star joked during an Access Hollywood interview in August 2021. "But I spend all day sweating, all the time, running and working out, and it ain't nice. My wife is like, 'Babe, babe, babe.' I'm Mr. Old Spice, you know what I mean? So I've got to get clean."
After claiming his comments were "misrepresented" on social media, Crews clarified, "I am not anti-bathing."
"I guess I'm a five-day-a-weeker with a possible sixth day,” the actress told Entertainment Tonight in August 2021 of bathing her kids. "I'm just looking for balance. I'm like, 'You were at school all day. … Bath every night.’ On the weekends, it's like, 'You're in the salty ocean. Who cares? You're fine.’"
The actor has said he doesn't wear deodorant, but Yvette Nicole Brown, who worked with him on Tropic Thunder in 2008, reassured fans that he still smells good. "I remember that Matthew McConaughey said that he did not use deodorant and that he didn't have an odor. So my first thought was, 'I'm going to get as close as I can to him to see if he's right,'" she recalled during an August 2021 episode of The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM. "He does not have an odor. He smells like granola and good living. He has a sweet, sweet scent. That is just him and it's not musty or crazy."
In an August 2021 GQ interview, the Stranger Things star admitted that he doesn't wash his hair and rarely gets haircuts on his own time. Instead, he lets touch-ups "simply happen" as part of his job.
"More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times," Gyllenhaal told Vanity Fair in August 2021.
One month later, the Spider-Man: Far From Home star said he was shocked how seriously others took his joke about not showering.
"I don't know what it was," he said during a screening of his Netflix film, The Guilty, according to BuzzFeed. "I answered a question where I was being sarcastic and ironic, and it's followed me around."
He added: "Unfortunately, I showered before I came here. So space ... I'm sorry."
"I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else ever,” Kutcher said on the “Armchair Expert” podcast in July 2021. Kunis, for her part, said, “I don’t wash my body with soap every day. But I wash pits and tits and holes and soles.”
During an appearance on The View in August 2021, the couple explained that they used to bathe their daughter, Lincoln and Delta, “every single night before bed," but that started to change as the kids grew older.
"Nope, I’m the opposite of a 'not washing themselves' celeb. Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’. Shower (warm) after my workout before work. Shower (hot) after I get home from work. Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower," the Jungle Cruise actor wrote via Twitter in August 2021.
“I’m not starting any trends. I shower, trust me,” Momoa said in an interview with Access Hollywood in August 2021. “I’m Aquaman. I’m in the f--king water. Don’t worry about it. I’m Hawaiian. We got saltwater on me. We good.”
In 2009, Pitt's Inglorious Basterds costar Eli Roth shared words of wisdom he picked up on set about staying clean.
“I got six kids. All you’ve got to do is just take [baby wipes], a couple quick wipes under the pits. I’m getting [peed] on all day. I don’t have time to take a shower,” Pitt admitted to Roth about how fatherhood adjusted his routine.
Following rumors that the Twilight star preferred to wait when it came to washing his hair, Pattinson cleared the air, telling Extra in February 2012, "Probably. I don't know. I don't really see the point in washing your hair.”
The former Today anchor considered giving up daily showers after reading an article on the subject, later explaining on air in May 2014, "People with skin issues notice that when they forgo daily baths, it eases up eczema and dry skin."
As the show conversation took social media by storm in August 2021, the singer tweeted, "Going on record here that I bathe every goddamned day."
"Well, I don't shower every day. I do what's needed," the former reality star told E's Daily Pop in August 2021. "I wash my hair every four days. But when I'm feeling icky, I'll get in the shower. Whether that's every day, that may be, but that could be every three days. I kinda keep myself clean, though. Like, if I feel like my pits smell or something, I just take some washcloths and some soap to it. I might not have to clean my whole body."
After a fan tweeted their concern about seeing the One Tree Hill alum trending because she possibly added to the bathing debate, the actress set the record straight.
"OH MY GOD I AM CACKLING!! Nope. Just engaged ;) Also I love showers," Bush, who got engaged to boyfriend Grant Hughes, tweeted in August 2021.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly days before Bellino’s exit, Cohen, 56, weighed in on her role, saying, “Here’s the thing about the Housewives — and especially the Housewives of Orange County — that is a group of people that is always kind of weirdly in each other’s lives in some dotted line way, or running into each other at Javier’s, The Quiet Woman.”
Cohen noted that Bellino, 47, will “always exist” in the RHOC universe. For now, however, Bellino won’t be on screen after announcing that she “was not asked back” for season 19 after a tumultuous season 18.
“I can’t say it came as a shock, it did not come as a shock,” Bellino said while guest hosting the “Going Rogue” podcast on Friday, December 20. “It was a hard conversation. … I guess I wasn’t really prepared [because] I didn’t think contracts were coming out — like, I thought we had more time. … [So] it was a shock when the call came, but I was never shocked about that information.”
After having an ongoing feud with Shannon Storms Beador, Bellino didn’t expect to last long. “It was a little bit of a relief,” she added. “I mean nobody wants the rejection, and no one wants to [hear] you’re not asked back. But it already happened to me. It happened to me in season 8. I’ve been there, done that!”
Andy Cohen
Bellino originally joined RHOC in season 5 and stayed for four years. After a decade away, she returned for season 18 as a “friend” of the main cast members. Her relationship with now-fiancé John Janssen, who previously dated Beador, 60, was a major point of contention.
Beader had previously told Us that she didn’t see her and Bellino continuing to share the screen.
“I was on Nick Viall’s podcast, and he said, ‘What will you do if Alexis is back on the show?’ And my answer was, ‘I’m not filming with Alexis ever again,’” she admitted in November. “If they choose to bring Alexis back on the show, enjoy, but I’m not filming with you.”
Alexis Bellino
Beader clarified that she wanted to remain on the show — just without Bellino. “I’ve never said I’m not coming back. I might have done that in my third or fourth year and I’ve never done it since,” she noted. “But if Alexis Bellino comes back, sorry, not gonna be around [her].”
That same month, Bellino expressed frustration with her time on RHOC. The reality star wrote via Instagram that she “never thought” she would be brought back “to be the villain.”
“If I had known that I never would’ve signed. I live in love. Not anger or hate or villainous. I truly lay awake every night wondering why it was portrayed this way,” she continued in November, claiming the show “made a hit show” at her and John’s expense. “[I plan to] use my own platform to share the truth with you because I do not live in toxicity, falsehoods, hateful behavior, victim hood or lies.”
She continued: “I signed onto reality…. and now I will bring the reality to light. I will never act or become a victim, I will simply live with God and stand in truth. He always prevails. #staytuned .”
As for the rest of the RHOC group, which includes Tamra Judge, Heather Dubrow, Gina Kirschenheiter and more, Cohen had thoughts about season 18 being “one of the most loved” in show history, telling Us, “That’s 18 seasons and the highest ratings in many years, over 3 million viewers.”
Sex scandals, extortion plots and decades-long feuds sound like story lines straight out of a soap opera — but as reality TV fans know, some of the best dramas are unscripted. From The View cohosts not getting along to Today’s most shocking exit, these are some of the biggest controversies in daytime and late-night talk show history.
In 2018, the former Fox News anchor came under fire when she defended wearing blackface makeup years ago on Halloween. Although she apologized in an email to staffers and read a statement on air, her show, Megyn Kelly Today, was canceled shortly after. Two months after her exit, she came to an agreement with NBC and reportedly received the remaining sum owed to her from her original $69 million contract — $30 million.
A second report accused the producers of sexual misconduct, which they denied. Ellen DeGeneres sent an email to her team in July, explaining that she told her staff the show “would be a place of happiness” and is “disappointed” to learn that something has changed over the years.
“I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show,” she said in the memo obtained by Us Weekly. “We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I’m glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention.”
DeGeneres continued, “I promise to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow. It’s important to me and to Warner Bros. that everyone who has something to say can speak up and feels safe doing so.”
After numerous clips of Kimmel wearing blackface on his ‘90s talk show, The Man Show, went viral, the late-night host apologized for his “embarrassing” portrayals of Black celebrities including NBA star Karl Malone. "I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us,” he wrote in a statement in June 2020. “That delay was a mistake.” The Jimmy Kimmel Live host continued: “There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke."
The Tonight Show host was criticized for his 2016 interview with then-presidential candidate Trump in which he avoided asking the Apprentice alum hard questions and playfully tousled his hair. Two years later, Fallon apologized for the infamous sit down, telling The Hollywood Reporter in June 2018, “I’m sorry if I made anyone mad. And, looking back, I would do it differently.”
Williams dedicated a July 2021 segment to 19-year-old TikTok star Swavy, who was shot and killed in Wilmington, Delaware. However, instead of paying tribute to the teen, whose real name was Matima Miller, she turned his death into a joke. "I have no idea who this is," she said. "Neither does one person in this building." Williams let the crowd know, "He's got more followers than me — 2.5 million," before bragging that she had more Instagram followers than him.
Swavy’s mother, Chanelle Clark, told Philadelphia’s CBS3 that she didn’t appreciate Williams’ commentary. “Like, as a mother, Wendy Williams, how dare you?" Clark said shortly after the episode aired. "So disrespectful."
In summer 2020, multiple former staffers accused DeGeneres of creating a toxic workplace on her talk show. She later sent her team a lengthy memo apologizing and promising to change things moving forward. While many of her celebrity friends — including Katy Perry and Kevin Hart — defended her, others like Brad Garrett and Lea Thompson claimed they had heard about negative experiences. WarnerMedia launched an investigation into the show in July 2020, shortly before filming resumed.
The View cohosts were known for butting heads over their differing political views. However, it was an offhand remark Behar made about not missing McCain while she was on maternity leave that led the Arizona native to leave the show for good after four seasons. “You missed me so much, Joy. You missed me so much when I was on maternity leave,” McCain teased amid a heated exchange during a January 2021 episode. Behar fired back, "I did not. I did not miss you. Zero." McCain told Variety before her August 2021 exit that the public squabble led her to have a panic attack after filming wrapped. "I couldn't stop crying, and I'm not always crying. I couldn't compose myself,” she said. “I threw up in the garbage can.” The Dirty Sexy Politics author added that Behar never apologized for the comment.
Kelly came under fire again in October 2018 when she defended wearing blackface makeup while celebrating Halloween. “When I was a kid, that was OK just as long as you were dressing as character,” she insisted on her morning show. She apologized in an email to staffers and later read a statement on air. Us confirmed two days later that NBC canceled Megyn Kelly Today in the wake of the controversy.
NBC News chairman Andrew Lack fired Lauer in November 2017 after a female employee accused the longtime Today host of sexual harassment in the workplace. The New York Times and Variety later published additional allegations of misconduct against Lauer, who apologized and admitted in a statement that there was “enough truth in these stories.” He and his wife of 19 years, Annette Roque, quietly began the divorce process after the scandal.
During a 2014 appearance on Tucker's former CNN show Crossfire, the former Daily Show host accused him and cohost Paul Begala of “partisan hackery” and “hurting America.”
The interview sparked outrage and Stewart addressed the heated exchange on his Comedy Central show. "Apparently, when you invite someone on a show called Crossfire and you express an opinion, they don't care for that," the Big Daddy actor said days after his Crossfire episode aired.
The political debate show was canceled one year later with Begala accusing Stewart's appearance of being the final nail in the show's coffin.
In March 2021, Stewart reignited his feud with Carlson in a tweet that apologized for calling the Fox News correspondent a “d--k” all those years ago — well, sort of.
“It’s high time I apologize ... to d--ks,” the Problem With Jon Stewart host wrote via Twitter. “Never should have lumped you in with that terrible, terrible person.”
Kelly felt the wrath of Fonda when she asked the Oscar winner, then 80, about aging and plastic surgery on Megyn Kelly Today in September 2017. A visibly agitated Fonda shot back, “We really want to talk about that now?” before continuing to discuss her movie Our Souls at Night. The actress joked about the exchange months later on the Today show, prompting the TV host to accuse her of being “fixated” on it.
Strahan informed Ripa during an April 2016 meeting that he was leaving Live With Kelly and Michael after nearly four years. A source told Us at the time that Ripa was “definitely blinded” and saw it as a “huge sign of disrespect” that nobody had told her earlier. After taking a full week off from the show, Ripa returned to her chair and delivered a monologue about “respect in the workplace.” That same day, Strahan confirmed in a statement that he would leave Live in May, four months ahead of his previously scheduled departure, to join Good Morning America as a full-time cohost.
Jones had a bitter falling-out with her View co-hosts in 2006, when she preemptively announced she would be leaving the show instead of going along with the pre-planned reveal agreed upon with Walters. She later slammed the 20/20 alum for writing about an affair in her memoir. "It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters...is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer...for the sake of selling a book," Jones told Us. "It speaks to her true character."
O'Donnell and Hasselbeck were often at odds over their differing opinions, but things got really ugly between them in May 2007, when they squared off about the war in Iraq. During the live, unedited fight, their View co-hosts watched awkwardly as the two women traded insults that were both personal and political, with O'Donnell calling the famously conservative Hasselbeck "cowardly." Immediately after their blowout, ABC announced that O'Donnell would not return to the show.
Hasselbeck was a polarizing presence from the moment she joined The View in 2003. After years of heated arguments with her co-hosts -- including a very contentious debate with Rosie O'Donnell regarding the war -- producers opted not to renew her contract in 2013. "The viewers they polled all said she was too extreme and right wing," an insider told Us at the time. "People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth."
The Talk host Osbourne made headlines in November 2013 when she slammed the ladies of The View during an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. Though she claimed she "idolized" Barbara Walters, she said "the rest [of the hosts could] go f--k themselves." A few days later, she apologized for her remarks, telling fans she was "trying to be funny," and that she actually had a lot of respect for the women. "I'm not well!" she said. "I'm not responsible. I'm really just a loose cannon."
Curry's messy exit from the Today show in June 2012 got even messier when reporter Brian Stelter wrote about it in his book, Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. Stelter alleged that the former co-anchor had been made fun of and mistreated by other staffers, and that her final months at Studio 1A were "torture." New York Magazine writer Joe Hagan made similar claims, quoting a source who said Lauer "didn't want her there."
O'Brien was tapped to replace Leno on The Tonight Show back in 2009, but in one of the most famous late-night shake-ups ever, he was ousted after just seven months so Leno could take his job back. The fracas proved to be divisive not just for the comedians involved but also for their fellow late-night hosts, many of whom sided with O'Brien. "The odds are we will both leave this Earth without speaking to each other, which is fine," O'Brien said of Leno in 2012. "There's really nothing to say."
Leno also had a famous feud with late-night host Letterman, who was passed up for The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson retired in 1992. Their rivalry was the subject of a 1996 HBO film, The Late Shift, and persisted for more than two decades. After the Conan O'Brien drama in 2009 and 2010, Letterman quipped that there are "two kinds of talk show hosts: Jay Leno, and those who have been victimized by Jay Leno." He later said, however, that they had buried the hatchet.
Baldwin's MSNBC show was canceled in November 2013, after the famously outspoken 30 Rock actor made headlines for directing a gay slur at a paparazzo in New York City. "Words are important. I understand that, and will choose mine with great care going forward," he said in an apology after the incident. "What I said and did this week, as I was trying to protect my family, was offensive and unacceptable."
Kimmel stirred up controversy when he aired a segment on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, in which he asked kids how the U.S. should pay back the money it owes China. One child said, "Kill everyone in China," to which Kimmel replied, "That's an interesting idea." The "joke" resulted in a White House petition signed by more than 100,000 people calling for Kimmel to apologize for the skit. "I thought it was obvious that I didn't agree with that statement, but apparently it wasn't," he later said.
You can't make this stuff up. Letterman copped to a sex scandal back in 2009, telling the audience of his late-night show that he had had sexual relationships with members of his staff, and that someone had tried to extort him as a result. With the assistance of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, he forked over a bogus $2 million check to his blackmailer, which ultimately led to the individual's arrest.
Months after Remini left The Talk in 2011, she took to Twitter with allegations that Osbourne had been responsible for her firing. "Sharon thought me and Holly [Robinson Peete] were 'ghetto'...we were not funny, awkward, and didn't know ourselves," Remini tweeted. "She has the power that was given to her." Osbourne, for her part, denied the claims, tweeting, "I had absolutely nothing to do with her departure form the show and have no idea why she continues to...spread this false gossip."
In February 2022, the longtime View cohost was suspended from the show after she said the Holocaust wasn't "about race" during a discussion of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus. “Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” Kim Godwin, president at ABC News, said in a statement released one day after the comedian's comments. “While Whoopi has apologized, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.”
Hours after the incident, the Oscar winner apologized during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “It upset a lot of people, which was never ever, ever my intention,” she said. “I thought it was a salient discussion because as a Black person, I think of race as being something that I can see. So, I see you and know what race you are. I thought [the Holocaust] was more about man’s inhumanity to man. … People said, ‘No, no, we are a race.’ I felt differently. I respect everything everyone is saying to me.”
She issued a formal apology via Twitter later that night. "On today's show, I said the Holocaust 'is not about race, but about man's inhumanity to man.' I should have said it is about both. As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, 'The Holocaust was about the Nazis' systematic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race.' I stand corrected. The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waiver. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused. Written with my sincerest apologies, Whoopi Goldberg."
There’s nothing some of Us want more than for our favorite TV shows — including Outer Banksand The Summer I Turned Pretty — to move on from certain fictional couples.
Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty has found success leaning into the love triangle between Belly (Lola Tung), Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). As the show nears its third — and possibly final — season, fans are waiting for Belly to make a decision.
According to Casalegno, there is a chance season 3 will stray from its source material when it comes to who Belly ultimately chooses, exclusively telling Us Weekly in July 2024, “I do feel like there’s a strong chance that that’s a possibility [that they will shake up the series’ conclusion].”
Casalegno’s support for a Belly and Jeremiah being endgame could be considered a controversial opinion since Jenny Han made a different decision in her book series. While some TV adaptations might have more success straying from its source material, The Summer I Turned Pretty is better off sticking to the page.
In the Outer Banks world, viewers are still reeling from JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) unnecessary death. The fan-favorite character’s body wasn’t even cold before the creators were being asked about pairing JJ’s soulmate Kiara (Madison Bailey) off with their arch nemesis Rafe (Drew Starkey).
“It’s a hard turn to go straight to a Rafe and Kiara ’ship given where they’ve been in the past,” Josh Pate told Cosmopolitan in November 2024 before adding, “We also know how great Drew and Madison are as actors and how great they are together. So we’re definitely going to explore that relationship.”
The promise of something more between Rafe and Kiara didn’t go over well. Unfortunately fans have to wait until season 5 to see whether the show properly pays tribute to JJ by not having his girlfriend move on moments after his death or not.
Keep scrolling for more examples of TV couples we don’t want to see grace our screens in 2025:
No amount of Taylor Swift songs can make up for the fact that Jeremiah isn't Conrad. The Summer I Turned Pretty has been following the major beats on Han's original books so we aren't that worried. But it still feels important to note that Belly and Conrad's chemistry can't be matched, and The Summer I Turned Pretty is better off sticking to what works instead of taking any Jeremiah-related risks that wouldn't pay off.
There's a time and a place for an enemies to lovers story line and this just isn't it. Rafe has done too much to Kiara and her friends to even justify having them end up together on the show. And then there's the fact that even Starkey and Bailey don't seem onboard with the idea based off past comments made by them. If even the actors aren't into it then it is better to just let it go.
If we are being honest, watching The Bear try to make Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Claire (Molly Gordon) happen sometimes makes Us feel like we are in a hostage situation. Carmy is at his most miserable when he is "pining" over Claire and Molly Gordon deserves better than just showing up to move the plot along for a man. There's also the fact that Carmy has more chemistry sharing a coffee with his "platonic" partner Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) than he does doing anything romantic with Claire — but that is neither here nor there.
Stranger Things is keeping the plot of its fifth and final season a mystery but you know what would be really surprising? If the show took a risk and didn't just have Nancy (Natalia Dyer) end up with Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) after creating cracks in their relationship during season 4. Nancy doesn't have to end up with Steve (Joe Keery) instead — although it would be nice.
When viewers know that a relationship is just a rest stop on the way to the actual destination, that is when a show should move it along. Nothing is a better example than Bode (Max Thieriot) and Audrey (Leven Rambin), which feels like a couple just written for the sake of drama. If you ask Us, we would rather fast forward through this chapter of the story.
Put Lucas Bravo out of his misery and let him explore a new and exciting journey for Gabriel. Perhaps that journey means leaving his relationship with Emily (Lily Collins) in the rearview mirror so that Gabriel isn't slowly "turned into guacamole” on screen. (For more of Bravo’s colorful comments about his time on the Netflix show, click here)
While their behavior makes for good TV, Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen's (Jackson White) toxic romance is approaching insufferable for many of Us. Season 2 could not have made it any more clear that those two need to stay away from each other — at least for the sake of the audience.
Hear Us out, while season 1 built Joe (Raymond Ablack) and Georgia (Brianne Howey) up thanks to an emotional backstory, the second season didn't stick the landing. The potential love interests barely interacted and that pull toward something more was mostly just coming from Joe's side. Maybe if Ginny and Georgia could make the case for Georgia's side of things we’d change our minds, but for now, there's better chemistry between her and Paul (Scott Porter). Never say never but the show needs to spend a little more time building Joe and Georgia up before trying to deliver on the payoff.
Seeing Melissa Peterman and Steve Howey a.k.a Barbra Jean and Van from Reba in a romantic relationship was not on Us' bingo card — ever. But with Howey exclusively telling Us that Danny being a sperm donor for Gabby on Happy's Place means that is on the table, we felt it was necessary to speak out and urge the NBC show to consider other options.
ABC's 9-1-1 already gave Us the gift of Buck (Oliver Stark) and Tommy's (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) breakup, which hopefully paves the way for Buck and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) to find love, but we digress. Hopefully the procedural sticks to its guns and doesn't walk back that decision moving forward.
Now that season 2 is officially a go, it feels necessary to remind everyone that Yancy (Vince Vaugn) and Bonnie should stay a thing of the past. Best case scenario, Yancy and Rosa (Natalie Martinez) find their way back to each other. But if not that then Yancy finding someone who isn't a notorious liar that put him in danger multiple times because of her shady past. We love Michelle Monaghan though!
Neither Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien (Zac Burgess) nor Lucien and Annie (Savannah Lee Smith) made a compelling enough cause for why they should be the ship that comes out on top on Cruel Intentions. As a result, Us urges the show to figure out how to make it more compelling — or scrap it all together.
It feels like Penn Badgley would agree with Us that the last thing Joe Goldberg needs is a successful love interest on Netflix's You. The fictional serial killer probably doesn't even deserve a happy ending but the least You could do is spare more women from falling into his twisted trap.
Charles (Steve Martin) deserves better than a woman who tried to kill him, hooked up with his stunt double and then broke out of prison to secretly squat in his apartment. Martin Short's character, Oliver, found love with Meryl Streep's Loretta and Charles should get the same happy ending.
Just when things couldn't get any more messy, Brie (Zibby Allen) and Brady's (Ben Hollingsworth) journey to getting back together took a sharp left turn when Mike (Marco Grazzini) proposed to her in season 6 — after she cheated on him with Brady. If you ask Us, Brie should choose Brady over Mike but the whole situation is a disaster waiting to happen.
Getting to work with wife Christa Millerhas some perks for Bill Lawrence but there are also certain cons — such as watching her kiss other men.
“I don’t like that at all,” Lawrence, 55, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, December 12, at PaleyLive’s An Evening of Shrinking program at WGA Theater.
Despite it sometimes being “upsetting” for Lawrence, the couple find joking about the situation off screen helps ease the awkwardness. That approach has most recently come into play for Lawrence’s current show Shrinking, where Miller is married to on screen husband Ted McGinley.
“We do [joke], because I felt personally betrayed,” Lawrence quipped. “Because in the writers’ room we joke around that Ted McGinley is playing me and so then when bad things are happening and she’s not respecting her husband — I take it personally. Even if I’m involved in writing.”
Lawrence and Miller, 60, have collaborated many times since getting married in 1999. Miller, who shares kids Charlotte, 24, William, 21, and Henry, 18, with her husband, has appeared on Lawrence projects Scrubs, Clone High, Cougar Town and Shrinking.
“Bill definitely sets the tone [on set]. Any show I’ve worked on with Bill — down to cast and crew — Bill has a no a—– policy. I know other people like to go along with that and say that, but Bill really has it,” Miller told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “And a lot of the crew I’ve worked with for many, many years. Bill has people on the crew that he works with all the time. I feel very safe on his set.”
Miller gushed over Lawrence’s dedication to making every set a fun workplace environment.
“Bill sets up a situation — and [Shrinking cocreator and star] Jason [Segel] does this as well — where they try to say things that are going to embarrass you, and we don’t have to use it,” she recalled. “Once you do that a few times and you know that nothing bad will happen if you try something and it doesn’t work, you can lay your heart out.”
Shrinking, which premiered in 2023, stars Segel as a grieving therapist named Jimmy who decides to become drastically more involved in his patients’ lives as he mourns the death of his wife and learns to parent as a single father. Miller’s character, meanwhile, is Jimmy’s next-door neighbor who often gets involved in his life.
“My wife in real life is slightly meaner than her character, so it’s been fun,” Lawrence joked to Us on Thursday before clarifying, “No. She’s so respectful and she’s so cool. Not a lot of guys get to tell their spouse what to wear and what to say. So the fact that I do that makes it more tolerable and I’m not wearing a single item of clothing that I picked out for myself and I’m not allowed to make any decisions in my real life.”
While discussing Shrinking‘s success, Lawrence explained how the hit Apple TV+ series manages to balance light-hearted story lines with more serious topics such as mental health.
“The cool thing is, we’ve got some many cool writers and performers. We try really hard to call from real life stories,” he shared with Us. “[Cocreator] Brett [Goldstein] will tell you too — and Jason — how the central premise of the show is lifted from a real story.”
Lawrence continued: “So I think when you’re talking about, whether it’s Brett and I dealing with family members who have Parkinson’s or people that have dealt with the grief of losing someone in their family, when you start with that authenticity, than you’re allowed to do goofy things and get broad. Look, all I do is steal people’s lives from around.”
New episodes of Shrinking premiere on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.
Everybody wants a piece of Adam Brody‘s Hot Rabbi after the premiere of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This.
Brody, 45, spoke about the show’s success at Golden Globes First-time Nominees Luncheon on Tuesday, December 17, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve gotten a lot of interesting stuff. My email is fuller than it was.
While the actor is currently focused on season 2 of Nobody Wants This, he is looking forward to planning his new projects. “If I’m looking to not do something, it’s probably nothing that is too similar to the show,” Brody added. “Other than that, quality of writing is a precious jewel and anything well-written, anyone would be lucky to do it.”
The hit TV series, which premiered in September, centered on the unlikely relationship between an outspoken, agnostic woman (played by Kristen Bell) and an unconventional rabbi (portrayed by Brody). Nobody Wants This received praise from critics and fans alike for the intense onscreen chemistry displayed between the two leads.
Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard, shared his thoughts on the overwhelming interest in her onscreen romance with Brody.
“We watched that scene together, the kissing scene, which I’d argue is the very best kissing scene ever, ever put on film,” Shepard, 49, shared at the New Yorker Festival in September. “And my best friend, Aaron, from childhood, he goes, ‘Does she ever kiss you like that?’ No, I didn’t even know she could kiss like that.”
Shepard joked he had some competition now when it came to his chemistry with Bell, 44, adding, “[It is] not as good as her and Brody.”
As for Bell, she was taken aback by how well she and Brody sold the fictional ship.
“Even I can acknowledge watching it, like, ‘Whoa, that’s hot,’” she told e-talk before the show’s September premiere. “My husband said the same thing. Like, watching the first episode he was like, ‘Oh, my God, I want you to kiss him so badly.’”
Bell continued: “I’m not trying to be reductive, but I think there’s a math to it. You have two actors that know how to stare dopily into each other’s eyes, and you have to have the confidence to expand that and really sit the anticipatory value before the kiss, which I think is really important.”
Series creator Erin Foster has since weighed in on Bell and Brody’s casting. “They just have, like, unreal chemistry. It’s crazy because they’re friends in real life. They don’t have that chemistry off camera,” she noted to TV Line at the time. “There’s no, like, sexual tension on set, and then the camera goes, and it’s like, ‘Holy s—!’ It’s really there.”
Nobody Wants This is available to stream on Netflix and has been renewed for a second season.
Kerry Washington‘s story lines on Scandal required her to make some awkward phone calls to the White House.
During an appearance on the Wednesday, December 18, episode of The View, Washington, 47, recalled reaching out to the White House to make sure her role as Olivia Pope didn’t conflict with her responsibilities as a member of President Barack Obama‘s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
“I had to call Valerie Jarrett — who worked for [Barack and Michelle] Obama, and say, ‘I just want you to know that I’ve been cast in this show. Lil awkward, because on the show, I’m sleeping with the president,’” she said. “But like, you know, it’s gonna be fine, right?”
Washington wanted to give the White House a “heads-up” about her more steamy scenes with Tony Goldwyn, who played the fictional President Fitzgerald Grant.
“I wanted to give them a chance to distance themselves if they needed to,” Washington added on Wednesday. “But they were like, ‘It’s fine. It’s TV.’ Again, for art, everything’s OK!”
Scandal, which aired on ABC from 2012 to 2018, followed the actress in the role of Washington D.C. fixer Olivia Pope who is involved in a long term affair with the president. In the past, Washington has discussed how the late President George Bush reacted when she told him about Scandal.
“I remember he left a message on the cell phone because he’s always a joker. It was like, ‘I love you. I want you. You left me. By the way, I’m the former leader of the free world. Call me,'” she told People in 2022. “I called him up. I said, ‘See, this is why I’m calling you now. Let’s stop joking about this stuff.’ And so I told him what the storyline was going to be, and he said, ‘Oh, yeah. No, yeah. I remember that.’ I said, ‘No, there’s nothing! There’s no relationship. Don’t even be joking that any of that stuff is true!'”
Washington added: “I had to tell him. I said, ‘It’s not good. It’s not going to be good. People are not going to take your joking.’ Because he was known as a jokester, he had a reputation of that. I was like, ‘This is nothing to play with now.'”
While fans were divided on whether they wanted Olivia with Fitz or Scott Foley‘s Jake, the trio has remained close since the show came to an end.
“She is — in addition to being one of the best actresses in America — an extraordinary team leader on our show. She approaches her work with this ferocious enthusiasm and work ethic that’s not at all self-serious. She sets an example for all of us of how to be fun and work hard,” Goldwyn told Glamour in 2013. “So working with her is just — you’re always challenged by her and inspired. With some actors, you end up talking about the scenes, figuring it out. Kerry and I never have to talk about anything.”
He continued: “We always seem to be coming from the same place, and both of us are actors who tend to throw ourselves into whatever we’re doing. We just really trust each other, and it’s always thrilling, I think.”
More recently, Washington expressed an interest in joining Goldwyn on his new show Law & Order, telling Entertainment Tonight in July, “This is the first time I’m hearing [that] breaking news. Honestly, when Tony Goldwyn tells me to do something, usually the answer is yes. So we’ll just have to figure out the when and the how of it all.”
The fifth and final season of You is coming sooner than you think.
Netflix confirmed on Thursday, December 19, that You is returning in 2025. According to the synopsis, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) returns to New York “to enjoy his happily ever after until his perfect life is threatened by the ghosts of his past and his own dark desires.”
In addition to Badgley, 38, season 5 stars Charlotte Richie, Madeline Brewer, Anna Camp and Griffin Matthews. The teaser art for the final season teased Joe’s “killer goodbye” and the “guilty treasures” he has in his possession.
You, which originally debuted on Lifetime in 2018, introduced Badgley as a serial killer whose obsession for a girl grew to terrifying heights. Based on books by Caroline Kepnes, the series found larger success after it moved to Netflix in its sophomore season.
Badgley previously teased that the You writers did not plan to give his character a happy ending.
“This is the way it has to be because he has an irrefutable problem and if it was just like, ‘They were made for each other, all he needed to find was somebody who kills people too,’ that’s not justice,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2019, referring to the season 3 arc between Joe and Victoria Pedretti‘s character, Love Quinn. “I think it’s reflective of reality because I don’t think people who kill are like, ‘I just need somebody who can do the same.’”
As Joe developed a bigger fanbase, Badgley questioned a potential redemption arc, explaining to Salon in February 2023, “The show is never a clinical portrait of either a serial killer or a man with mental illness. So the fun that we’re able to have when we do all of this is that this is not meant to be real. And to me, that doesn’t take anything away from it. It’s meant to be an exploration, an exercise. There’s an element of fantasy and camp to it that lets us do a lot of things, and, again, I think we benefit from it.”
He continued: “If you’ve done things that Joe has done, change would mean reconciling in yourself that you have murdered more people than you can count readily on one hand. If you’re really there, I think what would require your reconciliation, let alone that with any kind of judgment in society, is more than you’ve indicated at this point you’re capable of, because you’ve done those things.”
With Joe returning to New York, there have been various theories about possible onscreen twists. Badgley joined in on the fun by teasing that someone familiar could come back in the final season.
“I’ve heard you’re on the edge of your seats, waiting and theorizing about the epic conclusion to You,” Badgley said in a pre-recorded message at Netflix’s TUDUM event in June 2023. “More importantly, considering what, or should I say who, Joe will come up against as he finally returns to New York. Though I can’t say who yet. We all know there are many loose ends in Joe’s past. The question is: Who are you?”
Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton and Kevin Costner as John Dutton on ‘Yellowstone.’
Luke Grimes appeared to throw some subtle shade at Kevin Costner after the Yellowstone lead opted not to appear in the second half of season 5.
Grimes, 40, was asked about his experience filming the fifth and final season of the hit Paramount Network drama during an interview with Esquire earlier this month and replied, “Hopefully everyone can see that it was time.”
The actor, who played Kayce Dutton, specifically mentioned Costner’s absence.
“To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone,” Grimes admitted. “Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around. Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.”
Yellowstone, which premiered on Paramount in 2018, follows the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Many viewers came for Costner’s portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton but stayed for the show’s other leads, including Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille.
Luke Grimes as Kacey Dutton and Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton on ‘Yellowstone.’
Grimes hasn’t shied away from discussing his relationship with Costner recently. (Costner, 69, didn’t appear in the last half of season 2 amid reported tension between him and showrunner Taylor Sheridan, which they both denied.)
“I haven’t talked to him since [he left]. It’s not a case of any hard feelings or anything. It’s just, he’s Kevin Costner,” Grimes told Men’s Health MH Flex on Tuesday, December 17. “He’s a big deal. I do have his phone number — I just don’t feel like it’s my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants to.”
“None of us saw it coming the way it did, and obviously there was news about possible blowups behind the scenes or whatever,” he noted. “But just like in life, man, these things happen, they happen fast, and they’re not predictable.”
Grimes continued: “I lost my father a few years ago. It happened fast, and it was not the way that you would think that that would happen. In life, these things happen and then people have to start making decisions. And in our little Yellowstone world, that helped ramp the show up into a boil.”
Costner reacted to Grimes’ comments that same day. “I’m not thinking about [the Yellowstone finale]. I don’t think I’ve given it any thoughts, we’ll just let it go,” Costner said before dodging a question about whether he is in touch with Grimes. “No. We are done talking.”
Rachel “Raquel” Leviss is continuing to speak out about her history with abuse after her former fiancé, James Kennedy, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence.
Leviss, 29, took to Instagram Story on Wednesday, December 18, to reshare a past post about her complicated feelings regarding her romance with Kennedy, 32.
“I stand by what I wrote here. Being in an abusive relationship is confusing because you believe in the potential of your significant other and can’t comprehend how someone who says they love you is intentionally hurting you,” she wrote. “Bad times can be few and far between, it’s easy to minimize the abuse and want to believe the person is capable of change.”
“I’ve experienced so many emotions this past week. Feeling happy and vindicated and also so sad and broken,” she continued. “I don’t want this to be brushed under the rug like the times before. So much of my podcast talks about my experience with coercive control and gaining the insight to overcome it.”
While reflecting on her own journey, Leviss expressed gratitude for how far she has come, adding, “Abuse can be heavy to talk about and re-examine. I want to leave this on a positive note: There is so much to look forward to in the year to come. I am grateful for everyone who extended grace and kind words of encouragement through the tough times and the little victories.”
Leviss dated Kennedy from 2016 to 2021, which was documented on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules. During the season 9 reunion in early 2022, Leviss and Kennedy announced that they ended their engagement.
One month later, Leviss went on Scheana Shay‘s “Scheananigans” podcast to elaborate on the former couple’s downfall.
“There wasn’t one thing exactly [that led to the split],” she explained in January 2022. “James has always felt like my parents haven’t embraced him into the family the way that he wanted to be. I found myself making excuses for him [after an argument he had with my dad]. It was getting to the point where my family and him were not meshing well.”
Leviss later became embroiled in a cheating scandal with Tom Sandoval, which led to her cheating into a mental health facility. After seeking treatment, Leviss used the tools she learned at the center to reexamine her past relationships — including with Kennedy.
Raquel Leviss and James Kennedy, 2019.
“Only a few people know [the real breakup] story. It was also at a time where I didn’t want to tell the world because I didn’t want to ruin his life. That’s really what brought on that panic attack, because I wanted to say these things,” Leviss said on her “Rachel Goes Rogue” podcast in January. “There was more to that story, and I was holding myself back and overthinking everything knowing that this isn’t a safe place. That anxiety built up so much that I couldn’t breathe. I felt faint. I couldn’t see. And I just started hyperventilating.”
Leviss said she left a lot of information out about what really led to her ending her engagement.
“I was telling them the story of me planning to break up with James and how I had intentions of leaving the ring box on the counter when he got back from Europe. All of my stuff was going to be gone and I felt like that would be the safest way for me to break up with him,” she continued. “I didn’t go into the details of why we were breaking up and why I couldn’t be with him anymore.”
Us Weekly confirmed on December 12 that police were dispatched to Kennedy’s home on December 10 after receiving a phone call about an argument between a man and a woman. The authorities saw Kennedy allegedly grabbing the woman however officers at the scene did not see any visible injuries. Kennedy released a statement after he was released on a $20,000 bail and his relationship with current girlfriendAlly Lewber was called into question.
“I am committed to making meaningful changes in my life. I am taking time to focus on my sobriety, personal growth, and being present for my loved ones,” he wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, December 17. “Navigating challenging moments is not easy but I am determined to learn, grow and move forward with the incredible support system around me.”
Kennedy has yet to acknowledge Leviss’ public claims about him. His reps didn’t respond to Us‘ request for comment.
Kevin Costner‘s Yellowstone departure came as a surprise to most of his costars — and not everyone has remained in touch with him since the drama.
The western drama, which premiered in 2018, followed the conflicts along the shared border of a large cattle ranch, the Broken Rock Indian reservation and land developers. Costner got Us invested in the show with his performance as the Dutton family patriarch but the drama didn’t just remain on screen.
Yellowstone was poised for a lengthy run on the Paramount Network but rumors about Costner’s future on the show put things to a halt. While Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan denied reports of a feud, Paramount Network confirmed in May 2023 that Yellowstonewould end for good at the end of season 5. The hits kept coming with Costner not returning for the second half of the final season.
“Kevin has been a big part of Yellowstone’s success,” a spokesperson for the network said in a statement at the time. “While we had hoped that we would continue working with him, unfortunately, we could not find a window that worked for him, all the other talent, and our production needs in order to move forward together. We respect that Kevin has prioritized his new film series and we wish him the best.”
Costner, who shifted his focus to directing and acting in Horizon: An American Saga, stood by his decision to move on.
“It wasn’t tough,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024. “It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on.’”
Costner continued: “I gave this thing five seasons. I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away]. The fans have been way too good to me. And my obligation is to go on and continue to make things that mean something to them.”
Yellowstone subsequently ended later that year with Costner’s character getting killed off. Costner has yet to see how John’s story wrapped up but the finale paved the way for his former costars Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly to continue to tell stories in the Yellowstone universe.
While some have continued to praise Costner’s influence on the Yellowstone legacy, others have admitted to not remaining in touch with him. Keep scrolling for a guide to where each Yellowstone star stands with Costner:
Taylor Sheridan
“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2023 when asked about speculation that he and Costner were on the outs. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful — and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone.”
“Once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame,” he noted. “He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. [Horizon] seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”
After Costner’s exit, Reilly called him the “soul of the show” while speaking to Postmedia in November 2024, “There is going to be a loss, but then you get to [see] what that loss is going to mean for all of us. That’s part of what the story is now and was always going to be.”
Cole Hauser
Hauser didn’t address Costner’s departure but he has discussed his appreciation for Sheridan, telling People in November 2024, “Taylor [Sheridan’s] and my interest was to bring back an American man who is unapologetic, honest, loyal with strong values. I believe we have accomplished that together.”
He added: “And, you know, maybe there’ll be more [of the show]. Maybe they’re wrong. But if this is it, then it’s been one hell of a ride. … As long as Taylor Sheridan is writing, [I am interested in returning.]”
Wes Bentley
In November 2024, Bentley was asked about Costner, to which he told Extra TV, “I just say about Kevin [Costner] that he’s such a huge part of the show and he leaves a big hole [behind with his exit]. We miss him and I wish him the best of luck.”
Luke Grimes
Grimes has been the most forthcoming about the distance between him and Costner.
“I haven’t talked to him since,” he revealed during a Men’s Health MH Flex interview in December 2024 about Costner’s departure. “It’s not a case of any hard feelings or anything. It’s just, he’s Kevin Costner. He’s a big deal. I do have his phone number — I just don’t feel like it’s my place to reach out. He can reach out to me if he wants to.”
Grimes noted that he didn’t end on bad terms with Costner, adding, “None of us saw it coming the way it did, and obviously there was news about possible blowups behind the scenes or whatever. But just like in life, man, these things happen, they happen fast, and they’re not predictable.”
According to Grimes, it was noticeable when Costner was no longer a part of Yellowstone.
“He’s a big presence, man, guy’s an icon,” Grimes told People one month prior. “So not having him around to set felt a little different. But as always, I mean, we’re a big family now. It was just as special and hopefully, the fans will be able to connect with the story just as much.”
Bohen made it clear that the cast was focused on moving forward after Costner’s exit.
“I would use the analogy of a football team. If your quarterback gets hurt and he has to come out of the game, you have to play. So you gotta figure out another way to run the ball or throw the ball or just do different things because you can’t quit,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2024. “So that’s what happened. We lost our quarterback and we still have to play the game.”
He added: “You get into a certain level of comfort and understanding and when it’s altered, it’s a little bit of a bump. But like anything, you just put your helmet on and you’re like, ‘I gotta go catch the next pass.’ So you can’t really dwell on it too much.”
Will Patton
After playing Garrett Randall on Yellowstone, Patton continued to collaborate with Costner by booking the role of Owen Kittredge in Horizon: An American Saga. Patton is credited for all three movies, which continued to be released after the Yellowstone finale.
Danny Huston
Huston, who brought Dan Jenkins to life on Yellowstone, is set to appear as Colonel Houghton in the second part of Horizon: An American Saga.
Lainey Wilson
Despite having a role in the fifth season, Wilson surprised many of Us when she admitted she never crossed paths with Costner, telling Fox News Digital in July 2023, “I hadn’t even [gotten] to meet Kevin Costner even on the set. But I’ve heard that he’s just an incredible dude.”
“I have a good feeling that Tayler Sheridan is such an incredible writer and storyteller that no matter which way it goes, he’s going to do it justice and he’s going to do it right,” she added. “And I think he’s got a lot of incredible ideas.”
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