During the Friday, January 3, episode of the hit sitcom, Bobbie (McEntire) and Gabby (Melissa Peterman) compete to see who will emcee for the Tavern’s anniversary party. Bobbie asked Emmett (Rex Linn,McEntire’s real-life boyfriend) for help, prompting a surprising, hilarious response.
“I realize you don’t know anything about judging a talent contest,” Emmett quipped. “But decisions should be made on talent and talent alone.”
He added: “That is what America expects and that is what America deserves.”
Before McEntire, 69, joined Happy’s Place, she was briefly a judge on America’s Got Talent in 2016. She later served as a coach on The Voice after Blake Shelton‘s exit in 2023. The country music star enjoyed some success during her seasons 24 to 26 tenure, and ended up winning with Asher HaVon in 2024.
McEntire’s new series, which premiered in October, has made some not-so-subtle references to her other onscreen roles. The show follows Bobbie as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in the half-sister (Belissa Escobedo), who she didn’t know she had.
Rex Linn as Emmett, Reba McEntire as Bobbie in ‘Happy’s Place.’Casey Durkin/NBC
In addition to series creator Kevin Abbott‘s past involvement with McEntire’s Reba sitcom, Peterman, 53, also starred on the show. Their former Reba costar Steve Howey recently scored a guest role on Happy’s Place.
“Kevin had this idea for this character ahead of time. And then he was like, ‘What if Howey would do it? That would be really great to get a reunion going.’ I fit the character description so he gave me a call,” Howey, 47, recalled during an interview with Us Weekly in December 2024. “The planets just aligned on this one.”
Howey’s appearance as Danny featured several Easter eggs referencing his time playing Van on Reba.
Steve Howey as Danny, Reba McEntire as Bobbie, Melissa Peterman as Gabby in ‘Happy’s Place.’Casey Durkin/NBC
“Those little wink and nods are really cool for the audience,” he shared. “The line that I did give was the first time I walked in when Reba was drawing on Melissa’s picture and she made a mustache. I say, ‘Hey, nice mustache.’ She turns around and says, ‘Wish I could say the same about yours.’ But that was my line to Reba — and that’s how cool Reba is. I can pitch something and she’s like, ‘I’ll try it.'”
“Van is obviously different because I was so different. I was a lot younger, a lot more naive and a lot more fresh. It was my first series regular job so it was very new. Now after 20 some years, I can bring different experiences to the characters that I play,” he explained. “Also the character relationships — because Happy’s Place is a new thing — are different. Yes, it’s Reba Melissa, but the characters are different. Bobbie is a lot different than Reba. Gabby is a lot different than Barbara Jean and Danny’s obviously different.”
He continued: “This guy owns his own business. He has money and he’s playing this game. Like you said, Danny was onto them the whole time. … They have something special [with Happy’s Place] that just makes sense and Reba has another lightning in the bottle show.”
Netflix’s Fear Street franchise is far from over and Us is ready for more spooky stories.
The streamer acquired the movies, which are based on R. L. Stine‘s book series of the same name, after they were already shot back-to-back. Fear Street was originally meant to be released in theaters one month apart to draw out the anticipation, but Netflix ultimately rolled out the films throughout July 2021.
Fear Street kicked off with 1994, which followed a group of friends who take on an evil force that has plagued their notorious town for centuries. The first installment set the scene, which allowed 1978 and 1666 to tell the backstory about how Shadyside’s brutal slayings came to be.
Viewers were in for a surprise, though, when director Leigh Janiak chose to feature the same actors in each movie as they played different characters from various time periods. The cast was also intriguing because of the unexpected connection to Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things.
“It’s great to be partnered with someone who understands the challenges of what it means to be helming a giant production. We’ve been supporting each other a long time. We’ve been together since 2009 and were married in 2015, and it’s been very much a good, creative partnership,” Janiak told Rue Morgue in July 2021. “We give very honest feedback on one another’s stuff, maybe sometimes to the point of detriment. But I know that if I write something and he likes it, I’ve earned it, and vice versa.”
Janiak discussed how the Fear Street and Stranger Things cast overlapped, adding, “There were a few people I read for Fear Street who weren’t quite right for my roles and ended up getting parts in the next season of Stranger Things.”
Despite Netflix only announcing Fear Street: Prom Queen Is Coming in the works, Stine confirmed in January 2025 that three more movies were set to be released.
Keep scrolling for a guide to the Fear Street franchise:
The introduction to the franchise explored a series of brutal slayings in Shadyside, which were seemingly connected to the town's origin story. 1994, which leaned into iconic slasher movies such as Scream, starred Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman and Darrell Britt-Gibson.
After meeting the only survivor of a past murder spree, the main friend group is told a story about Camp Nightwing in the '70s and how it went from a summer of fun into a gruesome massacre. 1978 took inspiration from classics such as Friday the 13th.
The second installment also introduced a new group of cast members including Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Ted Sutherland and Chiara Aurelia. Meanwhile, Gillian Jacobs took on the role of C. Berman — who actually turned out to be the adult version of Sink's character.
A flashback sequence allowed Deena (Madeira) to be thrust back to 1666 where she learns the truth about the spooky Sarah Fier stories. 1666 used films such as The New World to help shed light on how Shadyside and its occupants became so cursed over the years.
For the final Fear Street installment, the cast was largely the same from the first two movies, with the actors playing multiple characters. A mid-credits scene also hinted at more movies in the Fear Street franchise after an unknown person was seen taking a satanic book from the tunnels to potentially unleash more evil on the town.
In January 2024, more than two years after the last Fear Street movie was released, Stine confirmed via X that another Fear Street book would be adapted. Stine's 1992 novel The Prom Queen focused on five Prom Queen candidates who ended up involved in a brutal murder during the Shadyside High prom.
India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Lili Taylor and Katherine Waterston will star in the fourth installment in the franchise.
According to the synopsis, Fear Street: Prom Queen Is Coming is set in 1988 as prom season is underway and the It Girls are competing for the crown. Things take a turn, however, when an outsider gets nominated and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing.
Is it just Us or are there a lot of new medical TV shows coming our way this fall? Luckily, Us Weekly compiled a full list and compared each one to see which series is the best fit for which fan.
There’s just something about a show set in a hospital that has viewers ready to scrub in no matter the premise. From Grey’s Anatomyto Chicago Med, the world of healthcare has become a consistent fixture on TV and that genre is only expanding from here.
Meanwhile, NBC is throwing their hat in the ring with Brilliant Minds and St. Denis Medical. Brilliant Minds stars Zachary Quinto as an intelligent specialist looking to connect with his patents while St. Denis Medical has Wendi McLendon-Covey leading the charge in the mockumentary.
Keep scrolling for a guide to each medical show to keep an eye out for:
‘Brilliant Minds’ (NBC)
Brendan Meadows/NBC
Based on Oliver Sacks‘ booksThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars, Brilliant Minds premiered in September 2024 and centers around an eccentric yet gifted neurologist played by Quinto. His character, Dr. Oliver Wolf, is determined to get inside the minds of his patients to understand their treatment needs.
‘Doctor Odyssey’ (ABC)
Disney/Ray Mickshaw
Murphy is growing his TV empire with ABC’s procedural Doctor Odyssey, which premiered September 2024. Joshua Jackson plays a doctor on a luxury cruise ship where he balances saving the day and having fun.
The upcoming series, which premiered in November 2024, is a mockumentary sitcom created byJustin Spitzer a.k.a the mastermind behind Superstore. St. Denis Medical follows overworked doctors and nurses working at an underfunded hospital with McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper and Kaliko Kauahi starring in major roles.
‘The Pitt’ (HBO)
Noah WyleMax/Warrick Page
Noah Wyle headlines the first season of The Pitt, which offers a realistic look at the challenges that healthcare workers face in America today. The story premieres January 2025 and will be told through the point of view of frontline heroes at a Pittsburgh hospital with 15 episodes showcasing 15 hours of one shift.
Fox’s medical drama is based on Italian TV series Nelle tue mani about a doctor who loses her memory in a car accident and wakes up to find her entire life has changed. Molly Parker leads the cast of Doc, which premieres January 2025, alongside Omar Metwally, Amirah Vann, Jon Ecker, Anya Banerjee, Scott Wolf and Patrick Walker.
‘Watson’ (CBS)
CBS
Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson, which premieres in January 2025, takes place six months after James Moriarty kills the legendary detective. Watson (Morris Chestnut) must come to terms with the loss of his best friend and partner by resuming his medical career as the head of a clinic dedicated to treating rare disorders.
Janet Caperna (L) and Jason CapernaPaul Archuleta/Getty Images
The Valley‘s Janet Caperna shared how keeping some things separate from husband Jason Caperna has helped their marriage.
During the Friday, January 3, episode of friend Scheana Shay‘s “Scheananigans” podcast, Janet, 34, said her and Jason, 40, don’t share an Amazon Prime account so they could buy gifts for each other. The Instagram post with a clip of the conversation resulted in Bravo fans flagging to Janet that she didn’t need to pay for two accounts.
“OK, what I’m learning from the comments is sharing an account is totally possible and i’ve wasted a lot of money on separate prime accounts ,” Janet replied before adding in a separate comment, “Separate bathrooms and bank accounts key to a happy marriage.”
The Valley star isn’t the only one who has shared advice about keeping some things to the imagination in a marriage. Actress Nicole Kidmanhad a similar outlook while discussing her romance with husband Keith Urban, to whom she has been married since 2006.
“We have a double shower,” she told W Magazine in an interview published on Friday. “The double-headed shower: key to a successful marriage. Separate commodes and a double-headed shower!”
Meanwhile, Meghan Trainer and husband Daryl Sabara have had a different take. The couple previously made headlines after revealing the special bathroom feature they had installed in their home.
“We just got a new house, and we did construction,” Trainor, 31, said on the “Why Won’t You Date Me?” podcast in October 2021. “Nobody knows this, but in our bathroom, there was one toilet, and a lot of times in the middle of the night when we’re with the baby, we’ve got to pee at the same time. So I was like, ‘Can we please have two toilets next to each other?’”
She added: “We got two toilets sitting next to each other, and we’ve only pooped together twice. We pee at the same time a lot.”
Trainor defended their decision, noting on an episode of the “Pretty Basic” podcast in July 2022, “I thought someone might be interested in it, I didn’t think it would go viral the way it did — to the point where it affected our relationship. Daryl was like, ‘You need to stop.’ I said ‘Why? People love it!’”
Sabara, 32, and Trainor, who have been married since 2018, kept the tradition alive when they relocated.
“We’re moving into a new house, and it has a toilet facing this way, and a bidet across from it,” Trainor shared in a July 2024 episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast. “So I need to make this [bidet] a toilet. So it’s gonna be a little different, but it’s a tighter bathroom area, so we will be close. Knees to knees. And that’s better, I want to see him.”
“When we first got there, there was, like, an old-school bidet, and I was like, ‘We’re not gonna use that.’ I was like, ‘I have an extra toilet, let’s just pop that one next to it,’ and my plumber laughed at me. And I said, ‘What’s so funny, my dude? Get up there! Like, get it going,'” she added. “Here’s why we did it. Because we have young babies, so we’re getting up every hour on the hour, and this dude pees like a girl, so I was like, ‘Get out of my way, I have to piss.'”
Trainor continued: “Sometimes if I’m peeing and he has to go, I’ll open up my legs and I go, ‘Go in!’ And he’s like, ‘No, I’m not doing that.’ There’s a shower, figure it out. So then I solved this crime, and I was like, ‘We’re gonna pee at the same time, in our own bowls.’ Oh, [but] I don’t like him pooping next to me. I tell him that. I go, ‘You know you’re not supposed to do that.’ We just pee. We’re not s—tin’. You guys assumed poop, didn’t you?”
“Zendaya and Tom started off as really great friends and stayed that way for a long while before things turned romantic,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2021, noting that Holland and Zendaya “work really well together because he makes her laugh and she really helps guide him through the world of celebrity.”
The former Disney Channel star was previously linked to Trevor Jackson, Odell Beckham Jr. and her Euphoria costar Jacob Elordi.
After meeting Holland on the set of their Marvel movie, fans started to speculate where there was something more between the pair in 2017. After years of denying that they were romantically linked, the twosome were spotted kissing in Holland's car in July 2021. They confirmed their romance in November 2021. Us Weekly confirmed their engagement in January 2025.
Schafer sparked dating speculation with Massima Desire after they were spotted spending time together in December 2020. She was later linked to costar Dominic Fike after he joined season 2 but their romance ultimately fizzled out.
Elordi dated his Kissing Booth costar Joey King from 2017 to 2018. He was then linked to Zendaya one year later. Us confirmed that the duo were dating in 2020, but their relationship didn't last.
Later that year, the Deep Water star sparked romance rumors with Kaia Gerber. They dated for over one year before calling it quits in November 2021.
Sweeney, who has been spotted with Jonathan Davino since 2019, prefers to keep her dating life off social media. It was reported in March 2022 that the pair are engaged.
Dane and Rebecca Gayheart tied the knot in 2004. After fourteen years of marriage, Gayheart filed for divorce from the Burlesque star in 2018.
They share daughter Billie (born in 2010) and daughter Georgia (born in 2011).
The musician started dating Diana Silvers in 2021 after he sent her a demo of his song. Following their split, Fike moved on with costar Schafer. He confirmed in July 2023 that he and Schafer called it quits.
“Zendaya and Tom started off as really great friends and stayed that way for a long while before things turned romantic,” a source exclusively told Us of the duo later that month, adding that they “both challenge each other and balance each other out.”
Reports that Zendaya and Holland were engaged started swirling in January 2025 when she attended the Golden Globes with a ring on her left hand.
Scroll down to see all the times Zendaya and Holland have talked about their relationship:
“He’s literally one of my best friends," the California native told Variety in 2017. “This past how[ever] many months, we’ve had to do press tours together. There’s very few people that will understand what that’s like at 20 years old.”
The HBO star reflected on how differently she and Holland remember the day they were introduced.
“He says when we first met it was super awkward because he went for a handshake and I went for a hug,” she told Variety in 2017. “But I don’t remember that. I thought it was cool.”
Following reports that claimed the duo were dating, they took to social media to poke fun at the speculation.
“Wait wait...my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years! hbu @TomHolland1996???” she tweeted in 2017. Holland replied, “@Zendaya does the press tour count?”
After fans speculated whether the Avengers star was dating Zendaya, he told Elle in June 2019 that he was single but “definitely a relationship person." he explained, “I’m not the fleeting type at all; it’s not my way of life.”
The English actor revealed how his costar helped him adjust to fame and transition to his new normal. "She totally changed the way I am able to be more comfortable in public," he told British GQ in February 2021.
Holland also talked about seeing Zendaya again for the next installment of their Marvel project, saying, "It's so fun being back with them, especially as Zendaya and I are going through similar things in our career, having taken on more adult roles to now come back to Spider-Man. I am so proud of what she has accomplished with Euphoria and also Malcolm & Marie."
Zendaya shared her thoughts on Holland's more mature role in Cherry, telling Esquire in February 2021, “It’s very hard to watch, because you’re like, ‘Dang, that’s my friend and I’m seeing him every day as Peter Parker.’ It’s brutal. But he took on the challenge beautifully.”
She added: “Once people get to see this version of Tom Holland, what’s next? Sky’s the limit.”
“She was so helpful in the process of my life changing, because not only are you making big films and you’re traveling the world, but everyone starts to know who you are. And you have to behave differently,” Holland explained to Backstage in February 2021. “You have a responsibility to kind of uphold this idea of being a role model to young kids. And, arguably, she’s the best at that.”
He continued, “You can’t really find anything against Zendaya, she’s kind of like the perfect person. It was so wonderful to have someone like her in my corner, to help me grow through that process … Having her as a friend has been so valuable to the success and happiness of my career and life.”
"We've been doing it since I was...19. It's pretty special to have grown up all together and be a part of another legacy," Zendaya told E!'s Daily Pop of the Spider-Man cast in July 2021.
"[He] can make anybody feel comfortable and have a good laugh and a good chat," the Euphoria star reflected on Holland during an interview with InStyle in October 2021, noting that the actor was "very charismatic."
Zendaya also praised Holland when it came to his strong work ethic that she got the chance to witness firsthand.
"Our director allowed me to come in every day [of the shoot]," she added at the time. "And it was cool to see how he cares so much about his work and making it right. I watched him do a fight scene all day, which is exhausting. He'd do a move, come back to the monitors, watch it, and say, ‘I can do that better.' I'd be like, ‘Dude, you got it.' But he wants us to be perfect, and I really appreciate that."
Holland revealed that he and Zendaya didn't intend to reveal their relationship with that steamy car PDA.
“One of the downsides of our fame is that privacy isn’t really in our control anymore, and a moment that you think is between two people that love each other very much is now a moment that is shared with the entire world ... We sort of felt robbed of our privacy," he told GQ in November 2021.
He added that he doesn't want to discuss their relationship without his love. “It’s not a conversation that I can have without her,” he explained. “You know, I respect her too much to say … This isn’t my story. It’s our story. And we’ll talk about what it is when we’re ready to talk about it together.”
“I think it's great to have that support and love around you, because you need that,” Zendaya gushed of her boyfriend during an April 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “This isn't an easy job, so it's good to have that to free you up from it every now and then.”
After attending the 2022 Emmys with her mom, Zendaya revealed that Holland was the first person she texted following her second Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series win.
"Well, I didn't have to text my mom because my mom was already there, she's here tonight, which is very special. And I texted my boyfriend,” she told E! News in September 2022.
“[I have] no rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz," the actor told Buzzfeed in June 2023, referring to the slang term for charisma. "I need you to fall in love with me for it to work. So long game, probably making a movie with each other definitely helps when the characters you're playing are falling in love with one another. You can sort of blur the lines a little bit. That's kind of where my rizz is at. And I'm locked up, so I'm happy and in love. So I've got no need for rizz.”
Holland teased during a December 2024 interview that he was going to be spending the holidays with Zendaya and her family.
“Where we’ll be is a secret,” he said on the “The Dish from Waitrose” podcast at the time. “I’ll know where we’re going [but fans won’t].”
He continued, “I think what we’d like to start doing, rather than spending it with each family each year, is bring the families together. That’s what I think we want to do next time, ‘cause we’re both actors, we’re both terrible at organizing things, so it hasn’t happened yet.”
Zendaya sparked engagement rumors on the Golden Globes red carpet in January 2025 by wearing a ring on her left hand. When asked about it on the red carpet, the actress had a telling reaction.
“As Zendaya exited the ballroom, a recently engaged [Los Angeles] Times reporter held up her left ring finger and pointed at it,” L.A. Times reporter Amy Kaufman wrote in her post-Golden Globes recap. “The actor responded by flashing her own bling on her left hand, doing a sort of jazz-fingers motion.”
When asked if she was engaged, the actor shrugged her shoulders and walked away.
As JonBenét Ramsey’s murder remains unanswered, her father, John Ramsey, has a theory about his daughter’s killer and their possible connection to another cold case.
John, 81, recently discussed an incident that occurred in 1997 where a girl — who attended the same dance studio as JonBenét — was assaulted by a masked intruder nine moments after his daughter’s murder.
“Well, I think there’s a very strong indication that there possibly is a connection,” John told Fox News Digital on Thursday, January 2. “The police blew it off in the beginning and — to my knowledge — never looked at that as an option.”
John recalled a conversation he had with the then-police chief, who allegedly said, “Well, it’s not the same because that little girl in the second incident was not murdered.”
“That’s absurd to say something like that,” John said of the exchange.
JonBenet RamseyNews Licensing / MEGA
JonBenét was found dead at age 6 in 1996 in the basement of her house hours after she had been reported missing. Her official cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide.
CBS subsequently reported on a case that took place in September 1997 involving one of JonBenét’s dance studio classmate. An unknown suspect broke into the girl’s home, which was two miles from the Ramsey residence, and attacked her. The unknown individual fled the scene and the case was never solved.
“My feeling is he got into the house while they were out and hid inside the house, so he would have been in there for perhaps four to six hours, hiding,” the victim’s father told 48 Hours at the time. “The first thing that occurred to us was that it was the parallel to the Ramsey case because it was exactly the same situation.”
John has remained certain that there’s a connection between his daughter’s murder and the unsolved attack.
“There’s a possibility it was the same person [who killed JonBenét]. The method of operation for this person was the same,” he told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “I believe he was in our home when we got home from going out to friends’ for dinner with the kids. We went to bed, and he waited till we were asleep and attacked JonBenét.”
John continued: “In the second case, the parents had gone out. They came home, and they set the burglar alarm on. And the mother heard a noise, eventually, and went into the child’s bedroom, and there was a person standing over her bed. So the person was in the house when they came home because they set the burglar alarm. He couldn’t have gotten in otherwise.”
Former Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner previously dismissed the possibility of a connection between the two cases, saying in a 2000 statement, “While the two cases have some similarities, detectives found no definitive connection at the time.”
Over the years, the Boulder police looked into many suspects and theories surrounding the young girl’s death, including her brother, Burke Ramsey, and JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John. A grand jury voted to indict the pair in 1999, but the indictment was never signed by the Boulder district attorney due to a lack of evidence. The couple were exonerated in 2008 and continued to advocate for JonBenét’s murderer to be found. (Patsy died of ovarian cancer in 2006.)
The renewed interest in JonBenét’s case comes after Netflix released their three-part docuseries Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey. Before the special, a spokesperson for the Boulder PD told Us Weekly in a November 2024 statement that they are “aggressively investigating the case and pursuing all avenues.”
Meanwhile, a source connected to the authorities shared with Us that there have been “new sets of eyes” on the case in an attempt to find “anything that could have been overlooked.”
“No one is off the table. This case is still wide open,” the insider noted. “We are after the truth, whatever that is. We are going to leave no stone unturned. The kindest thing we can do for the Ramseys is to solve this.”
“When I have kids, you will not see me in movies anymore,” Holland, 28, told Men’s Health in an interview published on Thursday, January 2. “Golf and dad. And I will just disappear off the face of the earth.”
Holland mentioned Zendaya, 28, when asked why the pair don’t make red carpet appearances together, to which he replied, “Because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us.”
Days later, Zendaya sparked engagement speculation when she attended the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 5. The actress, who was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, walked the red carpet solo while wearing a custom Louis Vuitton gown and Bulgari jewelry.
Zendaya notably rocked a diamond ring on her left hand, which fans on social media pointed out wasn’t part of a Bulgari collection, hinting it as a personal piece of jewelry. Us Weekly reached out to her rep for comment after TMZ and People reported that the pair were engaged.
Holland and Zendaya sparked romance rumors after working together on 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. After several years of denying the speculation, the costars went public in 2021 and have gone on to offer rare glimpses into their relationship.
Lester Cohen/WireImage
“I can’t not be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But also, I do have control over what I choose to share,” Zendaya told Elle in August 2023. “It’s about protecting the peace and letting things be your own but also not being afraid to exist. You can’t hide. That’s not fun, either. I am navigating it more than ever now.”
“It means that if you are dating someone, you have to be really conscious of their feelings, because if something does happen between the two of you, it’s not just happening between the two of you, it’s happening in front of the entire world,” he told British GQ in 2021. And it can be very complicated. It’s one of the things I worry about most, of all the things in my career.”
At the time, Holland admitted he was looking forward to having kids, telling People, “I’ve spent the last six years being so focused on my career. I want to take a break and focus on starting a family and figuring out what I want to do outside of this world.”
“I’m no stranger to the physical aspects of the job doing the whole action-movie thing. But the mental aspect, it really beat me up and it took a long time for me to recover afterwards, to sort of get back to reality,” he explained to Entertainment Weekly in May 2023. “I was seeing myself in him, but in my personal life. I remember having a bit of a meltdown at home and thinking, like, ‘I’m going to shave my head. I need to shave my head because I need to get rid of this character.’ And, obviously, we were mid-shooting, so I decided not to. … It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
“I’m no stranger to hard work, I’ve always lived by this idea that hard work is good work. I really enjoyed it but then again, the show did break me,” he noted to Extra TV at the time. “There did come a time when I was sort of, ‘I need to have a break.’ I disappeared. I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach and lay low. And I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was.”
Nikki Glaser was satisfied with her Golden Globes paycheck — despite the check allegedly being less money compared to a past male host for the awards show.
“There was a past host who said how much he got paid in his monologue and I got less than that, but that’s OK. I’ll get more next year,” she claimed without revealing the number. “I feel well paid for what I do. I’m alright.”
Glaser is seemingly referring to Jerrod Carmichael saying he got paid $500,000 during his 2023 Golden Globes monologue.
“I’ll tell you why I’m here. I’m here cause I’m Black,” Carmichael, 37, said at the time. “I’ll catch everyone in the room up. … This show, the Golden Globe awards did not air last year because of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which I won’t say they were a racist, but they didn’t have a second black member until George Floyd died, so do with that info what you will.”
Jerrod Carmichael, Jo KoyGetty Images (2)
Carmichael called out the Globes, which was canceled in 2022 for its lack of diversity. “They’re going to fire me? They haven’t had a Black host in 79 years and they’re going to fire the first one? I’m unfireable,” he joked after becoming the first person to open the awards ceremony since it was last broadcasted in 2021. “I was very excited. Like very, very excited.”
He continued: “I know the Golden Globes have gone through a lot of controversies. They didn’t air last year — the Hollywood Foreign Press didn’t have any Black members. So … I talk directly to the camera about how much Black approval means to me and how I hope Black people don’t boycott the show but will give it a chance.”
Glaser, for her part, made history as the first woman to host the show on her own. She told Stern that she received positive feedback from people associated with the show mere hours after it took place on Sunday, January 5, adding that she’s hopeful to be back for 2026.
“This first year, when you’re just trying to prove yourself, I honestly would’ve done it for free,” Glaser admitted. “It’s an insane platform to be on. It’s not about the money for me.”
“Tonight, we celebrate the best of film and hold space for television,” she quipped on Sunday. “Yes, Wicked, Queer, Nightbitch: These are not just words Ben Affleck yells after he orgasms. These are some of the incredible movies nominated tonight.”
“I really think this is going to be a very memorable night, and maybe not in the way that you think,” she added. “I predict five years from now when you’re watching old clips of this on YouTube, you’ll see someone in one of the crowd shots and you’ll be like, ‘Oh, my God, that was before they caught that guy!’ We could be making history tonight and we don’t even know with who. He knows, you know, Or she! It could be a woman. … It won’t be. It never is. Kind of like Best Director.”
Brilliant Minds is making its midseason return with Mandy Patinkin playing a mysterious role as a fellow doctor in a life-or-death medical case.
In Us Weekly‘s first look at the Monday, January 6, episode, Oliver Wolf (Zachary Quinto) and Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) show up to help a woman trapped under a collapsed building, which is when they notice a good samaritan on the scene.
“Paramedics did what they could, but triage is overwhelmed right now. I am a doctor,” the unnamed character (Patinkin) tells Dr. Wolf in the clip. “I was on my way to see my wife. I heard the collapse, and I thought I could help but there wasn’t much I could do other than sit here with her.”
Dr. Wolf reassures the man that sometimes emotional support “is everything” before he shares more of what he knows about the patient.
“Her name is Jenna. From what she has been able to tell me, she is 41 and runs a nonprofit,” Patinkin’s character explains. “She keeps calling for Stuart — a boyfriend or fiancé I am guessing. She’s in and out [of consciousness] over the last 10 minutes. She is strong.”
“Our options are limited. We either wait until she is freed and get her to the hospital,” Dr. Nichols says in the clip. “But if we intervene here, we risk infection or a catastrophic bleeding we can’t stop. She could die.”
Dr. Wolf, however, doesn’t want to wait since Jenna “is just going to get worse.” The patient briefly wakes up to say she is a runner and wants to keep her legs, which makes Dr. Wolf less willing to perform an on-site amputation. An emergency responder urges him to reconsider.
“The priority is evacuation. This building has lost half of its foundation. It is not a matter of if the rest of it goes down but when,” the fire service member tells Dr. Wolf. “The problem is moving this much rubble can bring down the rest of the building.”
He continues: “We are working on evacuation as fast as we can, but it is going to take some time. We need to move her, like, now — even if that means she loses her legs.”
Brilliant Minds, which premiered in September 2024, is inspired by the Oliver Sacks books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars and follows a neurologist and his team of interns as they tackle challenging neurology cases while dealing with their own relationships and mental health.
In addition to critical success, Quinto, 47, is making history with his character on the hit NBC procedural, marking the first openly gay character to lead a network medical series.
Donna Murphy as Dr. Muriel Landon, Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in ‘Brilliant Minds.’Rafy/NBC
“I think the thing for me that is so significant about that is that it’s not significant at all. Actually, it’s not significant to the character,” Quinto said on The Drew Barrymore Show in December 2024. “It’s an aspect of who the character is and NBC was really open to and invested in this story, the value of this story in our contemporary culture and the conversations that are happening today in the society.”
Quinto noted that the role meant “so much” to him because it is based on Sacks, who died in 2015.
“He lived and worked primarily in the mid-20th century, and he was a gay man himself and was celibate for 35 years of his life. When I found that out, I was like, ‘If you’re not somehow called to the clergy or living a life that restricts that, why would you ever make a choice like that?'” He recalled. “Then the more I learned about him and the more I read about him and the more that I observed why someone would make that decision, it became clear to me that it was because he didn’t feel he could be authentically himself and be afforded the same opportunities in his field of medicine. He knew he was designed to change the field of medicine, which he did.”
After reading about the inspiration for Brilliant Minds, Quinto considered the role “an honor” to take on, adding, “The tragedy of his life was that he felt like if he brought that part of himself into his work, he would have been denied those opportunities. So for me to be in this situation now — a generation later — and to be an openly gay man who’s leading this show and who’s telling this story. It’s such an opportunity to honor the original man himself, Oliver Sacks.”
He concluded: “And to say how grateful I am that I don’t have to cut that part of myself off in order to enjoy a life of fulfillment and success.”
Brilliant Minds airs on NBC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
Aubrey Plaza is in everyone’s thoughts as actors pay tribute to her husband, Jeff Baena, after the director’s shocking death.
Baena’s friend and longtime collaborator Adam Pally shared an emotional Instagram statement on Sunday, January 5, which read, “He was a talented director with impeccable taste and vision, he was a connector of people, a fosterer of possibility, the guy who knows where the best restaurant was no matter where you were. An overly gracious host with an almost disturbing open door policy, a film encyclopedia, and most importantly to me a friend.”
Pally, 42, who worked with Baena on Life After Beth, Joshy and The Little Hours, recalled how the filmmaker “strove for truth” and that “nothing could sound, look or feel inauthentic” because it was a “direct representation” of how authentic Baena was.
“You never worried that Jeff wasn’t telling you the way it is. Cause Jeff’s virtue was telling you the way it was,” Pally continued. “My heart breaks for my friend Aubrey and the Baena family and for all of us who spent time on his sets or at his house or in his orbit. Thanks for believing in me Jeff, may your memory be a blessing.”
John Phillips/Getty Images; George Pimentel/Getty Images
In the comments section, Jeff’s brother, Brad Baena, replied, “I am broken.” Us Weekly confirmed on Saturday, January 4, that Jeff died by suicide at age 47. Jeff was an indie director known for projects such as I Heart Huckabees, Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round.
“My first movie was a big learning experience on all fronts, and so working with her was a benefit because we have a shorthand and a close relationship,” Baena said of Plaza, 40, in an August 2022 interview with Newsweek. “As I’ve made more and more stuff, I’ve come to appreciate everything that she brings.”
Baena praised Plaza’s dedication to her craft, adding, “She’s insanely talented and so smart and obviously really good at producing. And she’s writing. There are very few people who can wear as many hats as her, as elegantly as she does.”
He continued: “Generally people point her out in whatever project she’s in as being the best part. She’s, like, insanely talented and I’m very lucky to have her in my life.”
“I think that when you’re with someone that is in your field, they understand what you’re dealing with on a deeper level. So obviously you are able to support each other and really understand kind of the journey that we’re both on,” she told People in 2019. “So I think that can be really great. But, you know, working with your partner can always be challenging. There’s a lot of things we do separately and I think that it’s all about balance.”
The actress said she enjoyed getting to work alongside Jeff. “I think that one of the great things about our careers is that we are forced to be independent, take little breaks, go off and do our things and come back,” she noted. “So it’s kind of fun. Nothing is ever the same. You don’t want to spend too much time apart. But I think that there’s a way that it can work and there’s a balance in that.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
And Just Like That has since gotten viewers talking for a multitude of reasons. From killing Mr. Big (Chris Noth) off in the series premiere to Samantha’s absence and Miranda and Steve’s split, Sex and the City fans haven’t been thrilled about all the changes taking place on screen.
Showrunner Michael Patrick King, meanwhile, has stood by the Max show’s decision to take big swings.
“We did something that was hard to do, which is we took something familiar and did make it new,” King told Variety in February 2022. “For better and for worse.”
King weighed in on some of the reactions he saw on social media, adding, “I monitor in macro, not micro. I monitor in the drum beats: ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever seen! This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. They should all be killed! I can’t live without them. The clothes are terrible, the clothes are great.’ I’m not into the minutia of anything.”
Keep scrolling for everything we know about the third season of And Just Like That:
When Will the Show Return?
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
Despite being renewed for a third season in August 2023, viewers will have a bit of a wait for more episodes. The decision came after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA both went on strike amid individual labor disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
During the second season finale, which aired in August 2023, Carrie and Aidan (John Corbett) parted ways after rekindling their romance for a third time. It remained up in the air whether Carrie and Aidan would reunite after his sons were all grown up. Regardless of the split, Carrie moved out of her iconic apartment into a new space with a cat.
Miranda, meanwhile, made amends with Steve (David Eigenberg) and they agreed to be friends following their divorce. She later crossed paths with recent ex Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) and the former couple got to a better place as well.
As for Anthony (Mario Cantone), he struggled to make a commitment with boyfriend Giuseppe (Sebastiano Pigazzi). After Anthony found out that his ex-husband, Stanford (Willie Garson), became a Shinto monk, he was able to move forward with his own life and with Giuseppe.
Nya (Karen Pittman), for her part, found out she was elected to the American Law Institute, but it was her personal life that needed more attention. At the end of the episode, Nya crossed paths with the Michelin chef (Toussaint Feldman) again, which hinted at a possible romance.
Meanwhile, Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker) revealed that she miscarried her child and attempted to deal with the loss.
Seema’s (Sarita Choudhury) journey wrapped up with her deciding not to travel with her director boyfriend, Ravi (Armin Amiri), to Egypt. Instead, she agreed to wait for him while he spent five months shooting a movie.
Will There Be Character Departures in Season 3?
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
In January 2024, Daily Mail reported that Ramirez was dropped from And Just Like That because her character was unlikable. Ramirez didn’t address the news at the time, but they did take to social media to call out the film and television industry for punishing actors who have spoken out in support of Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
In the post, Ramirez used the past tense while discussing their role as Che on AJLT. Max has yet to confirm Ramirez’s exit or return.
In March 2024, Max confirmed that Karen Pittman would not return as Nya Wallace due to her commitments to Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Netflix’s Forever.
“It has been a joy to have Karen Pittman play the smart and stunning Professor Nya Wallace on the first two seasons of And Just Like That…,” Max said in a statement. “As we have thoroughly enjoyed working with this dynamic actress, so too have others. Due to her commitments to two other streamer series, it has become apparent that filming three shows at once isn’t possible. Due to the production realities, we are disappointed to announce that scheduling conflicts will not allow us to continue with this character as part of season 3 of And Just Like That… Karen and Nya will be missed, and her Max family and fans will all be cheering her on in her other endeavors.”
Can Fans Expect Aidan to Return in Season 3?
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
After his highly anticipated return, viewers were shocked to find out that Aidan wouldn’t be a consistent presence on the hit Max series. In the season 2 finale, Aidan returned home to Virginia, where he lived with his three teenage sons, after his youngest child got into a car accident. Aidan asked Carrie to wait for him to make his permanent move back to New York — in five years.
“Aidan believes now that bad things happen when he’s not there,” King said during an August 2024 episode of AJLT’s companion podcast. “He admits to [Carrie] that he’s really the home for these three boys — and that’s who he’s always been.”
Aidan and Carrie spent the night together before his departure but it is unclear what their future will look like in future seasons.
After appearing in six seasons of Sex and the City and two movies, Cattrall opted out of the Max series due to a falling out between her and Parker. Cattrall said she had no plans to reprise her role as Samantha but she ultimately filmed a cameo for season 2.
According to multiple outlets, Cattrall didn’t interact with Parker or King on set and taped the scene by herself. This presumably means Cattrall’s onscreen appearance was likely a one-time situation.
“I knew it was going to end before anything that Carrie and Seema would be sitting on a beach in Greece looking out at the horizon, that it would not end with Carrie and Aidan,” he said on AJLT’s companion podcast in August 2023. “Our only little tip to you, the audience [and] the people who are watching and wondering what we’re thinking.”
King continued: “There’s a little, tiny thread of what we’re thinking at the end, which is Seema says, ‘Well we ran at love, and where did that get us?’ And she goes, ‘I’m waiting five months and you’re waiting five years.’ And Carrie goes, ‘Well, I may get some time off for good behavior.’ You would only say that if you’re already going, ‘It’s not gonna be five years.’ She’s very cute, but she does go on to say, ‘There will be others.’”
In December 2023, Nicole Ari said she would like to see Lisa’s relationship with her husband get more screen time, telling PureWow, “I think we’ll see more of LTW, hopefully with Chris Jackson, who plays Herbert.”
When Does Filming Begin?
Ari Parker revealed to Entertainment Tonight in February 2024 that she and the cast “go back to work in May.” While the actress remained tight-lipped about casting for season 3, she teased that she had been “sworn to secrecy” about the upcoming story lines.
Are There New Characters for Season 3?
Courtesy of Rosie O'Donnell/Instagram
Rosie O’Donnell announced in May 2024 that she is joining the cast. The actress teased her role as “Mary” by sharing a photo of the season 3, episode 1 script with her name on the top. “Here comes Mary,” she captioned the post, which also included a selfie from what appeared to be the first table read.
Patti LuPone andKristen Schaal are also joining the show while Rosemarie DeWitt is set to reprise her role as Aidan’s (Corbett) ex-wife Kathy.
When Did Filming Start?
James Devaney/GC Images
Parker began filming season 3 in May 2024, stepping out for a scene at Lincoln Center in a pink flared skirt with a mint blouse.
“The first time I saw my husband, I thought he was gay and I tried to set him up on a date with a male friend of mine,” she revealed. “And he said, ‘But I am not gay.'”
Ray was excited to find out Cusimano was available, adding, “Then I was like, ‘Check, please’ and I couldn’t wait to get him in the sack. It was [a memorable evening] and he is a very blessed man.”
On the podcast, the TV personality couldn’t stop smiling while discussing her sex life with Cusimano.
John Cusimano and Rachael RayCeleste Sloman/A&E 2024
“I had to buy two different sized suits for our wedding from Prada because his jacket was one size and his trouser was another,” she quipped. “I certainly am — I am a very lucky lady.”
Ray and Cusimano dated for several years before exchanging vows. “We balance each other, we always have,” she told People in 2022. “We knew we’d get through this together.”
The couple have faced challenges in their marriage — especially amid the COVID pandemic.
“John and I have always worked together, but in separate buildings. John focuses on the business dealings and all of the different facets of our brand while I make TV shows in the studio all day,” Ray told Us Weekly exclusively in August 2020. “But now we do everything together which of course is a huge adjustment.”
Their quarantine arrangement helped Ray and Cusimano learn about each other. “I think that we now have a better understanding of the role each of us has played, behind the scenes,” she continued. “I don’t normally get to hear what he does during all the business calls that would happen in a day … and he doesn’t see how much work goes into making TV shows.”
Rachael RayCeleste Sloman/A&E 2024
More recently, Ray opened up about the secret to a successful relationship. “I am very wildly, wildly, wildly lucky that I have my husband,” she said on her “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” podcast in October 2024. “But he understands I need my space. He needs his space. John and I largely stay in separate corners.”
“It’s very hard, especially for hot-tempered or creative or vociferous loud people to be able to just calm it down,” she revealed. “John and I don’t calm it down ever. We have huge screaming matches all the time, but I think that’s healthy. I really do. And I don’t trust people that are too quiet.”
John Cusimano and Rachael RayCeleste Sloman/A&E 2024
Over the years, Ray found that being too quiet “freaks” her out, adding, “Let’s just get it all out there. Eventually, I pat him on his ass, or he kisses me on the head, and that’s just sort of it. That’s the apology. It’s just sort of understood.”
While speaking to DiDario on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, Ray shared what she learned about living in the public eye.
“I’ve never wanted to be someone else — ever. I have never said to myself, ‘I wish I was that person.’ And I have never allowed someone to break me in public,” she noted. “I just won’t have it. If people try to take you down, it’s not going to get you anywhere. You can go home and cry or tell your husband, lover or dog how much that bothered you. But I just don’t do anything like that in public.”
After Zendaya sparked engagement rumors at the 2025 Golden Globes, one reporter went straight to the source.
“As Zendaya exited the ballroom, a recently engaged [Los Angeles] Times reporter held up her left ring finger and pointed at it,” Amy Kaufman wrote in post-Golden Globes coverage on Sunday, January 5. “The actor responded by flashing her own bling on her left hand, doing a sort of jazz-fingers motions.”
Kaufman continued: “‘Are you engaged?’ the Times asked. She kept showing her ring, smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders mysteriously.”
The Challengers star, 28, who was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, walked the red carpet sans partner Tom Holland on Sunday while wearing a custom Louis Vuitton gown and Bulgari jewelry. On her left hand, Zendaya notably rocked a diamond ring, which fans on social media pointed out wasn’t part of a Bulgari collection, hinting it as a personal piece of jewelry. A source has since confirmed their engagement to Us Weekly.
Zendaya and Holland met on the set of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. After several years of denying romance rumors, the costars went public in 2021 and have gone on to offer rare glimpses into their relationship.
Tom Holland and ZendayaCindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Holland, 28, has previously detailed the “nerve-wracking” aspects of finding love in the spotlight, telling British GQ in 2021, “It means that if you are dating someone, you have to be really conscious of their feelings, because if something does happen between the two of you, it’s not just happening between the two of you, it’s happening in front of the entire world. And it can be very complicated. It’s one of the things I worry about most, of all the things in my career.”
Meanwhile, Zendaya said she has accepted the “parts of her life” that are “going to be public” knowledge.
“I can’t not be a person and live my life and love the person I love. But also, I do have control over what I choose to share,” she told Elle in August 2023. “It’s about protecting the peace and letting things be your own but also not being afraid to exist. You can’t hide. That’s not fun, either. I am navigating it more than ever now.”
Zendaya attends the 2025 Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 05, 2025 in Beverly Hills.Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
A source told Us at the time that the couple have felt more confident in their bond since taking their romance public.
“Zendaya and Tom really did their best to keep their romance under wraps when they first started dating,” the insider shared in June 2023. “Before they began seeing each other, they had both always been very private when it came to their personal lives. It was something that bonded them in the early stages of their relationship because they were both on the same page when it came to avoiding public speculation.”
More recently, the pair have been less shy when it comes to speaking about each other in the press. Last year, Zendaya was asked which of her Dune costars had the most rizz, which refers to charisma.
“I don’t know. Rizz is short for charisma, right? Everybody’s kind of got their own,” Zendaya told Buzzfeed in February 2024. “I think someone who has beautiful charisma, not on the Dune cast, but personally works for me, is Mr. Tom Holland.”
Zendaya praised Holland for being able to exude charm. “I’m more shy and kind of quiet. So it takes a bit more to pull me out of my shell. But he’s great at just talking to people, getting to know people,” she continued. “He’s just naturally very good at that. I’ve definitely had to pull it out of me a little bit. He’s got that natural gift.”
Shortly before Zendaya sparked engagement rumors, Holland told Men’s Health that the duo won’t always be hitting the carpet together saying, “Because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us.”
Paramount+’s JonBenét Ramsey show Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey has people talking about how much the cast resembles their real-life counterparts.
The upcoming eight-episode limited series will cover the Ramsey family before and after JonBenét’s 1996 murder. JonBenét Ramsey specifically centers around parents John and Patsy dealing with the loss of their child as an investigation questions their involvement in her death.
“At the heart of the series, it is the story of Patsy and John Ramsey,” read a September 2024 press release. “Exploring the unbreakable partnership of these two complex people — as husband and wife, as mother and father — who had committed themselves and their children to building the narrative of a perfect, privileged life only to have it destroyed one Christmas night in 1996.”
After JonBenét’s murder, Patsy and John were suspected of being involved, and a grand jury voted to indict the pair in 1999. The indictment was never signed by the Boulder district attorney, however, because there was a lack of evidence. The couple were exonerated in 2008 when DNA testing helped investigators determine that the DNA found on JonBenét’s body was from an unrelated male.
True crime fans have also speculated that JonBenét’s brother, Burke Ramsey, killed her, which he has continued to deny. At the time of JonBenét’s murder, her mother was in remission from stage IV ovarian cancer. Patsy was diagnosed with cancer again in 2002 and died at age 49 four years later.
Patsy and John are set to be played by Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen, respectively. The series also stars Garrett Hedlund, Alison Pill, Owen Teague, Shea Whigham and Will Patton. The role of Burke has yet to be cast.
Keep scrolling to see how the cast of JonBenét Ramsey compares to the people involved in the case:
Mitchell appeared in a handful of roles before bringing JonBenét to life, including Ghosts, What We Do in the Shadows, Priscilla, The Apprentice and more upcoming projects.
McCarthy got her start on the small screen with roles in Gilmore Girls, Samantha Who?, Mike & Molly and Nine Perfect Strangers. She received an Emmy for her work as a host on Saturday Night Live in 2017. McCarthy gained critical acclaim for her appearance in 2011's Bridesmaids and has continued to star in comedies such as Identity Thief, The Heat, Tammy, Spy, The Boss and The Little Mermaid.
The actress shares two kids with husband Ben Falcone, whom she has been married to since 2005. The pair have collaborated on several projects, including Life of the Party, Super Intelligence and Thunder Force.
Owen gained recognition for roles in Chancer, Close My Eyes and Croupier before winning a Golden Globe and being nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Closer. After earning his first Emmy nomination for a role in Hemingway & Gellhorn, Owen starred in The Knick and portrayed Bill Clinton in the third season of American Crime Story.
He is married to Sarah-Jane Fenton, with whom he shares two kids.
The hit series was nominated for the most TV awards on Sunday, January 5, including Best Musical or Comedy Television Series, Best Performance in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri. Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Colón-Zayas also received nods for their respective performances in the Best Supporting Performance category. While Colón-Zayas, 52, didn’t win her category, White, 33, scored the win for Best Performance despite not being at the awards show and The Bear lost for Best Musical or Comedy Television Series.
The Bear, which released season 3 in June 2024, explored the food industry through the lens of a talented chef named Carmy (White), who returned to Chicago shortly after his older brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) death to take over their family sandwich shop, The Beef. After closing the local spot, Carmy and the employees reinvented the restaurant into The Bear, which found success and failure in the most recent season.
Before season 3 even aired, reports surfaced about FX quietly renewing The Bear for more episodes. Multiple outlets reported the show filmed seasons 3 and 4 at the same time due to the busy schedules of cast members such as White, 33, Edebiri, 29, and Moss-Bachrach, 47.
Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie, confirmed the news one month later when he discussed how the cast filmed an extended amount of episodes.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich and Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto in ‘The Bear.’FX
“When we went in to start season 3, we weren’t going in to make season 3 and 4,” he recalled during a July 2024 episode of the “Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso” podcast. “But it swelled and our episodes got quite big — over an hour.”
The extra footage allowed for the cast to start season 4 production immediately, adding, “Some of these episodes we’re splitting [and we] are not making it into two seasons and now we are going to be making 15 or 16 episodes instead of 10. But we’re gonna do it all at the same time.”
Filming out of order created some challenges for the cast. “I would come in at the beginning of the day and shoot a scene from late in season 4 and then shoot a scene from early season 4 and then shoot a scene late in season 3,” he explained. “Jeremy, Ayo and I are in a constant state of rereading through the seasons and trying to remember where your person is at.”
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu and Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto in ‘The Bear.’FX
Moss-Bachrach concluded: “We shot about 18 episodes, but everything shifts. In the past, what was one episode on the page has been split into two. I just lose myself in the messiness and chaos of it. I like getting taken by a wave that’s bigger than you thought it was, [getting] tumbled around and spit out the other end.”
Ahead of the show’s victorious night at the Golden Globes, the chairman of FX Content and FX Productions John Landgraf was asked whether The Bear season 4 would be ready for a summer 2025 release.
“It will be. We finished most of it,” he told Deadline in September 2024. “We haven’t finished all of it, but we finished most of it, and it will be ready at the same time next year.”
Landgraf called it “accurate” when a follow-up question stated that he didn’t know whether there would be more seasons of the hit Hulu series.
The Brutalist director Brady Corbet mentioned Plaza, 40, and Baena at the end of his acceptance speech on Sunday, January 5, after winning the award for Best Director. “My heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family,” he said.
Baena was an indie filmmaker known for projects such as I Heart Huckabees, Life After Beth, The Little Hours, Horse Girl and Spin Me Round. He often collaborated with Plaza, whom he began dating in 2011 and married nearly a decade later.
“My first movie was a big learning experience on all fronts, and so working with her was a benefit because we have a shorthand and a close relationship,” Baena said of Plaza in an August 2022 interview with Newsweek. “As I’ve made more and more stuff, I’ve come to appreciate everything that she brings.”
Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena.George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival
Baena praised his wife’s commitment to her work, adding, “She’s insanely talented and so smart and obviously really good at producing. And she’s writing. There are very few people who can wear as many hats as her, as elegantly as she does.”
“Generally people point her out in whatever project she’s in as being the best part,” he continued at the time. “She’s, like, insanely talented and I’m very lucky to have her in my life.”
“A lot of things happened during COVID for me. Yes, we got married. Big deal,” she shared during a December 2021 appearance on the Ellen Degeneres Show. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”
Plaza added: “I created a very quick love altar in our yard. Facts of our love, little stones, smoke, fire. Things of that nature. Then the man from Alhambra showed up in a Hawaiian shirt with a briefcase [to perform the ceremony]. … I can’t remember a lot of it, it was fuzzy. But I’m pretty sure it’s legal.”
The 2025 Golden Globes was a big night for Monsters — despite not winning any awards — after helping renew interest in Erik and Lyle Menéndez‘s murder case.
Monsters was nominated on Sunday, January 5, for Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series for Cooper Koch‘s performance as Erik and Best Male Supporting Actor — Television for Javier Bardem‘s performance as José Menendez. Bardem lost his category to Tadanobu Asano from Shōgun, Koch lost out to Colin Farrell for The Penguin and Baby Reindeer won over Monsters.
Season 2 of the hit Netflix series debuted in September and chronicled Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik’s (Koch) 1990 arrest for the murder of their parents, José (Bardem) and Kitty (Chloë Sevigny). Taking inspiration from footage of the trial and subsequent interviews, Monstersmirrored key moments from the siblings’ lives before and after they were sentenced to life without parole for shooting their mother and father.
“I got the audition and I watched the trial videos for the first time,” Koch, 28, told GQ Australia in December 2024 about his devotion to the role. “I was so moved and I believed them immediately. It was then that I found all the similarities and I became quite obsessed with the case and with their story.”
Koch recalled auditioning to play Erik in two other high-profile projects before Monsters, adding, “I was taping and taping, auditioning and auditioning, for seven years. Then finally you get the one that is supposed to happen.”
VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images
Episodes 4 and 5 received critical and fan praise for how it approached Erik and Lyle’s claims that they killed their parents in self-defense following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. However, the show received backlash for other inaccuracies about the Menéndez brothers, including the insinuation that they were in a sexual relationship.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show,” read a statement from Erik, now 53, that was shared via Lyle’s Facebook page in September. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
“It is sad for me to know that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime have taken the painful truths several steps backward — back through time to an era when the prosecution built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma differently than women,” Erik’s statement continued. “Those awful lies have been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims over the last two decades who have broken through their personal shame and bravely spoken out. So now Murphy shapes his horrible narrative through vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and of me and disheartening slander. Is the truth not enough?”
While creator Ryan Murphy has stood by the scripted show’s vision, Koch has shown support for Erik.
“I’m very hopeful that we can correct that injustice and heal what has been such a long, devastating trauma,” Koch told GQ last month. “If I had anything to do with it, I’m so glad. But there are a lot of people who are working behind the scenes who are really helping.”
Erik and Lyle are currently awaiting their next court date after the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office recommended a resentencing following the renewed public interest from Monsters and Netflix’s documentary The Menéndez Brothers.
Former Scientology executive and whistleblower Mike Rinder has died at age 69.
Rinder’s wife, Christie King Collbran, announced his passing on Sunday, January 5, after his battle with advanced esophageal cancer.
“Rest in peace, my sweet, beautiful husband,” King Collbran wrote via Instagram. “I speak for so many when I say the sadness and pain we feel mirror the depth of our unwavering love for you. Your courage, bravery, and integrity are unmatched and will forever inspire us. You have been the pillar of stability in our lives, filling our days with your strength, wisdom, love, laughter and devotion. The world will remember you. My best friend, my hero, my love, Michael John Rinder.”
“If you are reading this, I have shuffled off this mortal coil in accordance with the immutable law that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes,” his statement read. “My only real regret is not having achieved what I said I wanted to — ending the abuses of Scientology, especially disconnection and seeing [my son] into adulthood.”
The message continued: “If you are in any way fighting to end those abuses please keep the flag flying — never give up. And please, if you are able in some way, help Christie and the boys to move forward into the next chapter of their lives.”
Rinder’s cause of death has not been revealed, but he revealed in June 2023 that he was diagnosed with cancer. Before his passing, Rinder was raised in the Church of Scientology until he renounced the organization in 2007. He took part in HBO’s 2015 Going Clear documentary, which revealed alleged abusive practices within the church.
The church, however, has denied allegations made by Rinder. “Mike Rinder is an inveterate liar who seeks to profit from his dishonesty,” read a September 2022 statement following the release of Rinder’s memoir, A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology. “He supports himself by orchestrating the harassment of his former Church and its leader through false police reports, incendiary propaganda and fraudulent media stories.”
After actress Leah Remini left Scientology in 2013, she and Rinder collaborated on A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. The docuseries ran from 2016 to 2019, and the duo continued to speak out about the organization with their “Scientology: Fair Game” podcast.
Mike RinderRich Fury/Getty Images
Remini, 54, has yet to address Rinder’s death, but she spent the holidays with him and his family.
“Spreading a little holiday cheer in Florida with my @rindermike and his beautiful family,” she wrote via Instagram in December 2024. “I am so moved by the outpouring of love and care shown to Mike and his family.”
Remini urged her followers to send love to Rinder, adding, “As many of you know, Mike has been courageously battling cancer, and your messages of love truly lift his spirits. Please keep Mike, Christie, and their two boys in your prayers. Surround them with all the love and strength they so deserve.”
Koch, 28, and McClave, 37, made their red carpet debut while posing for photos at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 5. The actor’s Netflix series Monsters, which is centered around convicted killers Erik and Lyle Menéndez, is nominated for Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series for Koch’s performance as Erik and Best Male Supporting Actor — Television for Javier Bardem’s performance as José Menendez.
Before McClave showed support for Koch at the Golden Globes, the couple were photographed at the LACMA Art+Film Gala in November 2024 but have largely kept their relationship out of the public eye. Koch catapulted into stardom after his role in Monsters and has made headlines for wearing a ring on his left hand.
Koch admitted that he has been wearing a wedding ring — but he isn’t engaged yet.
“We were going to the Emmy Awards with my brother Payton who was nominated for editing for Only Murders in the Building. My twin and I were getting ready and I didn’t have any jewelry on,” he recalled on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live in October 2024. “And I was with my boyfriend and we went into my room and I was looking through my jewelry and I had this ring that was my grandfather’s. I was like, ‘Oh, I should just wear this ring.’ Then we just put it on my ring finger and it just became this little romantic and protective mechanism.”
Koch quipped that he “wanted to trip people out,” adding, “[My boyfriend is] very much committed to me as much as I am to him. We have talked about that and we do need to get him a ring. But it’s really more of just a nice totem.”
Miles Crist/Netflix
In addition to his romance with McClave, Koch has been a topic of conversation for his critically-acclaimed performance in Monsters. Koch has since found himself supporting Erik, 53, and brother Lyle. 56, who were sentenced to life in prison for the 1989 murder of their parents. They have claimed they killed their mother and father in self-defense following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
“I was so moved and I believed them immediately. It was then that I found all the similarities and I became quite obsessed with the case and with their story,” Koch told GQ Australia in December 2024. “I was taping and taping, auditioning and auditioning, for seven years. Then finally you get the one that is supposed to happen.”
“The reason why he’s been with me for so long is because I auditioned to play him seven years ago for the Law & Order series and for the Lifetime movie,” he said, referring to 2017’s Law & Order True Crime and Menendez: Blood Brothers.
Koch nearly landed the role both times. “I got to the final rounds in both and I ultimately didn’t get it. But I felt like I had to play this part,” he recalled. “I got the audition [for Monsters] and I watched the trial videos for the first time.”
,” Janet replied before adding in a separate comment, “Separate bathrooms and bank accounts 
