Dig deep on Google Earth and you'll inevitably find a surprise or two. Maybe you're looking at far-flung islands in the middle of an ocean or checking in on something closer to home.
A few years ago, online sleuths found an image of a B-2 stealth bomber in flight over Missouri. The aircraft is smeared in the image because it was in motion, while the farm fields below appear as crisp as any other view on Google Earth.
There's something else that now appears on Google Earth. Zoom in over rural North Texas, and you'll find a satellite. It appears five times in different colors, each projected over wooded bottomlands in a remote wildlife refuge about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Dallas.
Β© Google Earth
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright
When the moon gets spooky on Thursday night, don't panic. It's not an omen, it's just an eclipse.
Earth will cast its shadow across the moon, turning its surface red as our planet, our moon, and our sun align. That's why total lunar eclipses are sometimes called the "blood moon."
This will be the first total lunar eclipse in nearly two-and-a-half years.
The red color comes from the light of all the sunrises and sunsets happening across Earth.
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
That's because, even though the Earth is casting its shadow on the moon, the sun is still passing through Earth's atmosphere along the edge of that shadow. Those are all the regions where day is transitioning into night, and vice versa.
The atmosphere bends the sunlight toward the moon. Blue light gets scattered in the atmosphere, which is why the sky is blue. Only the red portion of the light spectrum cuts through to reach the lunar surface.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
"It's as if all the world's sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon," NASA wrote in a blog post.
Depending on what time zone you're in, the eclipse will occur the evening of March 13th or very early on the morning of March 14th.
The Earth's shadow will begin to creep over the moon, creating a partial lunar eclipse, at 1:09 a.m. ET.
To the naked eye, according to NASA, "it looks like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk."
The parts of the moon that are eclipsed will be dark until 2:26 a.m. ET, when the eclipse becomes total. Earth's shadow will completely swallow the moon and cast it in red.
Use binoculars or a telescope to see the eclipse more clearly and peer at the moon's briefly-red craters. For taking photos, NASA recommends putting your phone on a tripod and setting the camera to take long exposures of at least a few seconds.
Totality will last a little over an hour, until 3:31 a.m. ET when the Earth's shadow continues passing over, creating several more hours of partial eclipse. The moon will be completely back to normal by 6 a.m.
If you miss it, don't worry because this is the first of three. There will be another total lunar eclipse in September, and then another in March.
Around 700 million years ago, Earth was a frozen, white sphere, its rocky surface buried kilometers under ice. Despite the barren landscape, the evolution of complex life in the oceans was about to pick up steam. New research published this week in Geology suggests that the two realms were more connected than previously thought.
As massive glaciers scratched and scarred Earthβs rocky surface, they freed less-common minerals, which were later flushed into the seas as the ice melted into giant glacial rivers. These minerals in turn may have spurred nutrient cycling in the oceans, boosting the metabolism of microbial life.
βIn retrospect, Iβm surprised it took [researchers] so long to go and do a study like this,β says Galen Halverson, a stratigrapher at McGill University who was not involved in the work. βIt fits with what we understandβ about the glaciated Earth.
Β© MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
ESA-Science Office
An asteroid large enough to flatten a city may be on track to crash into Earth on December 22, 2032, but the odds are very small, NASA announced Wednesday.
"There should be no particular panic or great concern about this object," Davide Farnocchia, the technical lead at NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, told Business Insider.
Even so, the object β called asteroid 2024 YR4 β is Earth's biggest known impact threat in 20 years and it's already triggered international planetary-defense planning.
As of Thursday morning, the chance of a 2032 impact was 1.3%, or odds of 1 in 77.
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNEOS
As a result, two international asteroid-response groups are actively monitoring the situation: the International Asteroid Warning Network, chaired by NASA, and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group, chaired by the European Space Agency.
SMPAG is meeting in Vienna next week. If the risk remains above 1%, the group "may begin to evaluate the different options for a spacecraft-based response," the ESA wrote in a Wednesday statement.
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Jon Emmerich
A telescope in Chile first discovered the asteroid in late December, but fresh January data drove its risk level past 1%.
That sounds low, but a risk above 1% is uncommon and, therefore, significant for asteroid watchers, Farnocchia said. "It just means that we pay close attention and do everything that we need to do to better understand the situation," he said.
As telescopes all over the planet gather more data on the asteroid, the odds of impact will likely change.
Courtesy NASA/Catalina Sky Survey/ Seaman et al
The last time this happened was with the discovery of asteroid Apophis in 2004. It briefly had a nearly 3% impact risk, but after further data narrowed down its future path, it proved to be no threat at all.
That's what NASA expects for 2024 YR4, saying it will probably rule out the possibility of impact by April.
April is the cutoff point because, after that, the asteroid will be too far away for telescopes to continue tracking its path. It won't be observable again until 2028.
If the risk is still above 1% in April, the world's space agencies may find themselves plotting the first-ever mission to deflect an incoming asteroid.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 is somewhere between 130 to 300 feet wide β not big enough to pose a global threat.
Richard Binzel, an MIT professor of planetary sciences, told BI that if it struck Earth, the effect would be similar to the Tunguska event that occurred in Siberia in 1908, when an asteroid or comet exploded as it plowed through the atmosphere.
The fireball and blast wave flattened 500,000 acres of forest β about 34 times the size of Manhattan.
Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
It's too early to determine the exact location of a potential impact for 2024 YR4.
The asteroid's size and risk make it a 3 out of 10 on the Torino Scale, which categorizes potential impact threats, with 10 being a certain impact that threatens the future of civilization.
A rating of 3 means YR4 will likely prove to be a non-threat, but given the eight-year timeline, it deserves close attention.
"I like our chances," said Binzel, who invented the Torino Scale. He expects more incidents like this "as we're finding more and more of these objects."
NASA has already practiced deflecting a dangerous asteroid.
The agency's DART mission in 2022 slammed into a small asteroid and pushed it into a different orbit around the larger asteroid it's circling. It was a test, and it showed the method works.
NASA Live
Binzel thinks eight years is enough warning time to organize a larger deflection mission for asteroid 2024 YR4, if necessary. Given the asteroid's size, it won't take as big of a punch to budge it as, say, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.
Failing that, there's always the possibility of evacuation for the affected area. Farnocchia said it's important to remember that Earth is mostly ocean, and then a lot of its land is uninhabited.
However, "it's a little too early to talk about that scenario because we have time now," he said. "The priority is getting observations and better understanding what the situation actually is."
The risk could rise before it falls. If new data narrows down the asteroid's possible paths through space, but an Earth impact is still one of them, the risk of impact will be higher.
Even then, further data could completely remove Earth from the cone of probability. That's still the most likely outcome.
Asteroid hunters like Binzel have long fought to increase space surveillance enough to spot potentially dangerous asteroids. In that sense, the discovery of 2024 YR4 is a kind of victory.
FX/Hulu
"Alien: Earth" is bringing the xenomorphs somewhere they've never been before: Television.
The FX TV series developed by Noah Hawley, who created fan-favorite shows including "Legion" and "Fargo," will expand the "Alien" timeline to before Ridley Scott's original 1979 movie.
It's a good time to be a fan of the franchise, since 2024 also saw the release of "Alien: Romulus," which surprised audiences with its ultra-gory sequences and jump scares.
As the title suggests, the 2025 TV series brings the xenomorphs to Earth.
The films often mention that if the deadly creatures make it to Earth, it will be game over for the human race. This will no doubt raise questions for sci-fi fans about the continuity of the long-running movie franchise.
Here's everything we know about "Alien: Earth" so far.
The "Alien" timeline is starting to get quite messy with the various sequels and prequels. But Hawley is keeping things fresh by rolling back the clock so that "Alien: Earth" is set two years before the first movie.
The first teaser for the series confirmed the year that it takes place with the ominous tagline: "In 2120, Mother Earth is expecting."
1979's "Alien" takes place in 2122, and by giving the show a little breathing room from the movies, it can hopefully stand on its own two feet.
The synopsis from FX reads: "When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat in FX's highly anticipated TV series 'Alien: Earth' from creator Noah Hawley."
Hawley told Deadline in September: "There's something about seeing a xenomorph in the wilds of Earth with your own eyes. That is truly chilling to think of it moving here among us, and so I can't tell you under what circumstances you'll see that, but you'll see it β and you're going to lock your door that night."
In November 2023, Deadline reported that Sydney Chandler will play Wendy, who has the brain of a child and the body of an adult.
She is joined by "Scream" and "The Mandalorian" star Timothy Olyphant, who plays Kirsch, a synthetic android who looks after Wendy.
They're joined by "Andor" actor Alex Lawther as a soldier called CJ, Samuel Blenkin as a CEO called Boy Kavalier, and Essie Davis as Dame Silvia.
A new teaser for the show confirmed that it will start airing on Hulu in summer 2025, but didn't give a release date.
The shows the xenomorph's perspective as it scrambles around a mysterious spaceship that is hurtling into the Earth's atmosphere.
It's a unique approach to depicting the iconic creature, so hopefully, Hawley has some tricks up his sleeve to make "Alien: Earth" stand aside from its cinematic counterparts.
Netflix; Rebecca Zisser/BI
2025 is shaping up to be an exciting one in television.
Start off your new year with the return of "Severance," Apple TV+'s bizarre (complimentary) and wildly innovative workplace series about a group of people who have two completely discrete personas for work and their outside lives. You'll be able to pick up other returning favorites, like "The White Lotus" season three in the spring and the fifth and final season of "Stranger Things" later in the year.
There are a few exciting new series on the docket for 2025 this year like "The Residence," a White House whodunnit from Shondaland starring Uzo Aduba. If you're looking for something with a stronger sci-fi bent, FX's "Alien" franchise series "Alien: Earth" is set to hit screens later this year as well. Or, if you devoured the docuseries "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace," watch the story dramatized in Hulu's upcoming "Good American Family."
Here are our most anticipated television series of 2025, in order of premiere date.
Apple TV Plus
Release date: January 17 on Apple TV+
Watching the first season of "Severance" in early 2022 felt a bit like getting in on an extraordinary secret. This bizarre, endearing, and incredibly stylistic take on the soul-crushing office grind quickly yet quietly became one of the best genre series on television. Three years later, the show blessedly is not a hidden gem anymore, and "Severance" season two is coming in hotly anticipated.
The series stars Adam Scott as Mark, a man who decides to take a "severed" job after the death of his wife. The severance procedure bifurcates his personality into two discrete people: one who works his job at the inscrutable Lumon Industries, and one who lives life on the outside. In season one, he and his coworkers work to expose their plight as severed workers to the world, while simultaneously unraveling the myriad secrets of their workplace. β Palmer Haasch
Brian Roedel/Disney
Release date: January 28 on Hulu
"This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman and star Sterling K. Brown reunite on a new Hulu series. The mystery thriller focuses on Xavier Collins (Brown), the head of security to James Marsden's President Cal Bradford. Xavier finds Cal dead and is said to be the last person who saw the president alive, thrusting him into the middle of an apparent conspiracy.
The trailer is light on specific details, but according to the streamer the show is set "in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world's most prominent individuals," who are rattled by the president's murder and the ensuing investigation.
Brown was always a highlight of "This Is Us," so it's exciting to see him step into another lead role that appears to be very different from Randall Pearson.
Colin Bentley/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
Release date: February 14 on Paramount+ with Showtime (and February 16 on Showtime)
"Yellowjackets" is a mish-mash of genres: part coming-of-age story, part survival drama, part black comedy, part mystery.
When it first premiered in 2021, it wasn't an instant hit. Rather, it steadily grew a passionate fan base as more and more viewers became invested in this tale of a group of teenage girls who became stranded in the Canadian wilderness in the 1990s β and the repercussions of that traumatic experience on the surviving women 25 years later.
Creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson managed to craft a wildly compelling story that drew equal interest to both halves of its cast: the talented rising stars who play the '90s versions of the girls (including breakouts like Ella Purnell and Sophie Thatcher), and the established powerhouse actors like Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, and Christina Ricci in the modern-day setting.
Season two answered a lot of questions (including arguably the biggest: Did they eat each other??) but ended on an unexpected death that left fans clamoring to know what would happen next. Luckily, there are still plenty of mysteries waiting to be solved. β CM
HBO
Release date: February 16 on HBO and Max
There's little information about season three of "The White Lotus." But Mike White's hit HBO anthology series, which racked up a total of 43 Emmy nominations from the first two seasons, has generated enough hype all on its own for the next installment.
Season three will focus on wealthy guests visiting the fictional White Lotus resort chain's Thailand location. And for the first time ever, the new season will feature a returning cast member: Natasha Rothwell, who played spa manager Belinda in season one. The star-studded cast also includes Blackpink member Lisa in her acting debut, "Fallout" star Walton Goggins, and "Gen V" actor Patrick Schwarzenegger β who told Business Insider that season three is "Absolutely fucking insane." β Olivia Singh
Netflix
Release date: February 20 on Netflix
Robert De Niro on a Netflix drama? OK, sure, we're in.
"Zero Day" is a political thriller focusing on a global cyberattack, where De Niro plays a former president who comes out of retirement to help mitigate the crisis. The impressive ensemble cast also includes Lizzy Caplan as his daughter, Angela Bassett as the current president, and Dan Stevens as a loudmouth political TV host who antagonizes De Niro.
David Astorga/NBC
Release date: February 23 on NBC and Peacock
"Suits" mania very suddenly and randomly swept over the nation when the 2010s USA Network drama saw a resurgence of interest on Netflix. Why? Who knows β chalk it up to one of the great mysteries of the algorithm.
In any event, it prompted the greenlighting of a spinoff series that shifts the action from a corporate firm in New York to an entertainment firm in Los Angeles. The new series centers on Stephen Amell's Ted Black, a former New York prosecutor who has reinvented himself out west.
Don't expect Meghan Markle to show up on it, but we can still hold out hope for other fan-favorite characters: Gabriel Macht's Harvey Specter is reportedly set for a three-episode arc, which hopefully means Donna Paulsen (Sarah Rafferty) isn't far behind. β CM
Netflix/Marvel Entertainment
Release date: March 4 on Disney+
The Marvel series will see Charlie Cox reprise his role as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer by day, and a vicious vigilante by night. Because it's a continuation of the "Daredevil" Netflix series (which is exciting in itself) it'll also reunite Cox with Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, the criminal mastermind, Kingpin. Not only that but "Daredevil: Born Again" will add a harder, violent edge to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Hopefully Marvel chief Kevin Feige and the gang let the show stand on its own two bloody feet without forcing needless cameos for the sake of it. After all, a street-level story with relatable stakes is what the franchise needs right now amid all the chatter of future "Avengers" movies. β Eammon Jacobs
Elizabeth Sisson/Disney
Release date: March 6 on Hulu
"Deli Boys" (created by former Vice journalist Abdullah Saeed) follows the two wealthy Pakistani American sons of a convenience store magnate who learn after his death that he was secretly involved in a life of crime.
The polar opposite brothers are forced into that world, promising a unique take on the fish-out-of-water story coming to Hulu. β CM
Erin Simkin/Netflix
Release date: March 20 on Netflix
Market your series as a "Shondaland White House whodunnit," and you don't have to do too much more to convince me. After a murder at a state dinner, Detective Cordelia Cupp, played by Uzo Aduba, must attempt to solve the case. On-screen, she's joined by Giancarlo Esposito, Randall Park, Ken Marino, Edwina Findley, and a slate of others β including Kylie Minogue.
"Scandal" writer Paul William Davies serves as showrunner, with Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers executive producing. "The Residence" is based on the book of the same name by Kate Andersen Brower. β PH
HBO
Release date: April on HBO and Max
"The Last of Us" season one turned prestige gaming into prestige television, adapting Naughty Dog's fungal apocalypse thriller into an acclaimed series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Season one ended on a tenuous high note: Joel (Pascal) chose to save Ellie (Ramsey), who is immune to the cordyceps fungus that turns people into violent infected, rather than allowing her death in pursuit of a cure.
"The Last of Us" season two will adapt at least part of "The Last of Us Part II," the sequel to the original video game. Without getting too much into spoilers, it's likely to be even more heartbreaking than season one. This season will also feature newcomers including Kaitlyn Dever, who will play a significant character named Abby, "Beef" star Young Mazino, and Jeffrey Wright, who will reprise his role from the game, Isaac. β PH
Apple TV+
Release date: April 11 on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ has had no shortage of prestige drama attempts, from the Cate Blanchett series "Disclaimer" to Natalie Portman's "Lady in the Lake." Not all of them are very good (and a lot of them appear to come and go with little to no fanfare), and yet I still have enough faith in Jon Hamm and his ability to play complex antiheroes that I'm compelled to tune into "Your Friends & Neighbors."
Hamm plays Andrew "Coop" Cooper (Hamm), a recently divorced former hedge fund manager who's fired in disgrace. According to Apple, Coop, who lives in the wealthy Vestment Village, begins stealing from his neighbors' homes but ends up uncovering more secrets (and danger) than he bargained for.
The show also stars Amanda Peet and Olivia Munn, among others. And the streamer clearly has a lot of faith in it: They've already renewed it for a second season, months ahead of its premiere. β CM
HBO
Release date: (rumored) May on Max
The Emmy Award-winning "Hacks" is a series that only gets better with age, and its excellent third season set a high bar for whatever will come next. The series stars Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a comedian who turns around her stale Vegas stand-up career into a true artistic reinvention with the help of young writer Ava Daniels, played by Hannah Einbinder.
Deborah and Ava's relationship has always been defined by an ever-growing co-dependence, the capacity to mutually wound each other, and somewhere in the mix, love and grudging respect. The season three finale put them at odds once again, setting up for what's sure to be a thrilling β and of course, extremely funny β fourth season. β PH
Daniel Delgado/Disney
Release date: Fall 2025 on Hulu
Glen Powell has been all over our movie screens for the last three years, and now he'll be all over our small screens.
Powell, one of the biggest male rising actors in Hollywood today, is on a movie star trajectory akin to his mentor (and "Top Gun: Maverick" costar) Tom Cruise. He has roots in TV, though ("Scream Queens," I will never forget you). The upcoming Hulu comedy, about a hotshot quarterback who torpedoes his college football career and disguises himself as Chad Powers to walk onto a Southern university's team, is a great venue for flexing his funny chops.
At the absolute least, the visual of Powell in those prosthetics and wig is already a hoot. β CM
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Release date: TBD on Netflix
These days, it's hard to fathom that "Stranger Things" was one of the relatively early hits of the streaming age when it premiered in 2016. Close to a decade later, it's a cultural juggernaut that elevated the profile of its entire cast, from veteran actors to young stars. With one season left, it's finally time to close this chapter of life in Hawkins, Indiana.
"Stranger Things" season five will bring an end to Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) story, but past that, it will represent the true end of an era at Netflix. "Stranger Things" is one of the biggest series the streamer has ever released, but even if the show is ending, some talent like showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer and Brown, now a leading lady, are sticking around with other projects. β PH
Netflix
Release date: TBD on Netflix
"Wednesday" was a smash hit when it premiered on Netflix in 2022. Over two years later, it's still holding strong atop the streamer's list of its most-watched shows ever, with over 252 million views to date.
The supernatural teen dramedy's success is due in large part to the performance of Jenna Ortega as the titular Wednesday Addams, the sardonic, psychic teen who finds herself thrust into the center of a murder mystery when she's shipped off to a new boarding school.
The first season ended with a twist about one of Wednesday's two love interests, but Ortega has promised that "Wednesday" season two will lean more into horror and focus less on her character's romantic life. That's a very welcome tweak. β CM
Jonathan Prime / Netflix
Release date: TBD on Netflix
The long-running dystopian anthology series β where each episode is a stand-alone story of speculative fiction, with most set in a near-future world with advanced, often ethically troublesome technology β returns for its seventh outing later this year.
As with recent seasons, there are some big names lined up for the "Black Mirror" season seven cast, including Awkwafina, Issa Rae, Paul Giamatti, Billy Magnussen, and Tracee Ellis Ross. But perhaps most excitingly, for the first time in the series' history, there's going to be a story continuation: One of the six new episodes will be a sequel to "USS Callister," the Emmy-winning season four episode starring Cristin Milioti as a programmer who gets trapped in her incel boss' video game world. β CM
Netflix
Release date: TBD on Netflix
Obsessive stalker Joe Goldberg has somehow managed to evade capture or consequences in his yearslong killing spree that's spanned four seasons of television and multiple cities across the globe. He seemed to finally be at the end of the line in "You" season four, only to miraculously make it out with a seemingly clean slate yet again. The finale brought Joe full circle back to New York, and partnered with a woman who may or may not see him for who he truly is.
The fifth and final season of "You" will hopefully bring a satisfying conclusion to the drama that's managed to keep reinventing itself β and finding ways to creatively continue the story β long past where many assumed it'd surely end. β CM
JuHan Noh / Netflix
Release date: TBD on Netflix
"Squid Game" isn't only Netflix's biggest non-English-language series β it's also one of its biggest properties, period. The Korean-language series, created by showrunner Hwang Dong-hyuk, is a deeply tragic thriller with an instantly recognizable visual identity. Both of those factors helped it become not only a hit series, but also a true cultural phenomenon. "Squid Game" season two, which premiered in December, broke viewership records to become Netflix's biggest debut ever.
Even if you didn't watch "Squid Game," you know "Squid Game" β and with the show's third and final season on the way in 2025, you definitely should be catching up. β PH
Steffan Hill/HBO
Release date: TBD on HBO and Max
Given the wild success of "Game of Thrones," it makes sense that HBO would go all-in on the "Thrones" brand through a series of spinoffs. The first of those, "House of the Dragon," focuses on a bloody Targaryen succession war. The second, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," is about a knight and his young squire β Dunk and Egg, colloquially. Dunk is Ser Duncan the Tall, and Egg is Aegon Targaryen, a young member of the ruling family.
The series is based on the first installation of George R. R. Martin's "Tales of Dunk and Egg" novella series, titled "The Hedge Knight." HBO drama head Francesca Orsi told Deadline in 2023 that the show would ideally span three seasons, one for each existing novella. β PH
FX
Release date: TBD on FX and Hulu
FX is expanding the "Alien" franchise with a new TV series that finally brings the unimaginable horrors of the Xenomorphs to Earth in the aptly titled "Alien: Earth."
The first teaser trailer didn't reveal much about the series, but it's helmed by "Legion" and "Fargo" creator Noah Hawley, which hopefully means that the series will have more to say than just sci-fi scares. It features the likes of "Justified" and "The Mandalorian" star Timothy Olyphant, "Andor" and "Black Mirror" actor Alex Lawther, and "Fargo" alumni David Rysdahl. Also in the cast are Essie Davis, Sydney Chandler, and Samuel Blenkin. β EJ
HBO
Release date: TBD on HBO and Max
Rachel Sennott has been a standout part of some of the best comedies of the last few years, including "Bottoms," "Shiva Baby," and the horror comedy "Bodies Bodies Bodies." The comedian is stepping up as HBO's new Lena Dunham (non-derogatory), helming a series that she's writing, executive producing, and starring in.
No details about its plot have been made available, but Sennott has proven herself to be imminently watchable, so we're certainly tuning in to see what she's got in store. β CM
Hulu
Release date: TBD on Hulu
It's a tale as old as time: Where there's a viral true-crime story, a scripted dramatization (or five) is sure to follow. That's the case with "Good American Family" (not to be confused with the similarly named faith-based TV network Great American Family), which is loosely inspired by Natalia Grace Mans' story.
Natalia's saga is long and complex (enough to fill three seasons of the Investigation Discovery docuseries "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" over the course of three years). The gist of it is that Natalia, a Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism, was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett, who eventually came to believe that their new daughter was actually a psychopathic adult posing as a child. (Yes, that is also generally the plot of the horror movie "Orphan," which wasn't based on Natalia's story).
Ellen Pompeo, in her first major starring role since stepping back from "Grey's Anatomy" as a series regular, stars as the girl's adoptive mother. It'll be interesting to see whether the scripted drama is more sympathetic to the Barnetts' side or Natalia's. β CM
Brooke Palmer/Photo: Brooke Palmer
Release date: TBD on HBO and Max
"It Chapter 1" and "It Chapter 2," based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, were mega-hits at the box office when they came out in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Pennywise the Clown had previously terrorized audiences in the form of Tim Curry in a 1990 miniseries before Bill Skarsgard scarred a new generation when he took over the role. "Welcome to Derry" is the first time the story is getting the prequel treatment.
The show jumps back in time to explore an earlier community in Derry who came face to face with the monstrous creature. It features new characters not seen in the films, with only Skarsgard returning. β CM
Starz
Release date: TBD on Starz
The smash hit historical drama "Outlander" has captivated audiences (both readers of the book series it's based on and show-only fans) for over a decade since premiering in 2014.
Claire and Jamie Fraser's epic love story will come to an end with an eighth and final season. But the "Outlander" universe will live on with "Blood of My Blood," a prequel that rewinds the clock to show how Jamie's parents, and Claire's, wound up together.
If the prequel's cast has even a fraction of the chemistry "Outlander" leads Sam Heughan and CaitrΓona Balfe do, it'll be must-see TV for romance lovers. β CM
Sarah Shatz/FX
Release date: TBD on FX and Hulu
Michelle Williams, who previously won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role in the FX limited series "Fosse/Verdon," returns to the network with "Dying For Sex." She plays Molly, an unhappily married woman who decides to leave her husband in order to explore her sexuality after being diagnosed with cancer.
Billed as a comedy-drama, it's based on the podcast of the same name by Nikki Boyer. Boyer, who's also an executive producer on the FX show, co-created her podcast with her friend β the real Molly, who actually did leave her own marriage after a breast cancer diagnosis. Jenny Slate plays Boyer on the show; Rob Delaney and Jay Duplass also star.
Beyond the compelling true story and excitement over the talented Williams' return to TV, "New Girl" creator Liz Meriwether also serves as a showrunner, promising whip-smart writing. β CM
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images; Random House Publishing
Release date: TBD on AMC and AMC+
The criminally underrated supernatural horror anthology series gathered a small but devoted fan base after the first season, based on Dan Simmons' 2007 novel of the same name, premiered in 2018.
That season told an extremely spooky fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition and featured a who's-who of British actors like Jared Harris and Tobias Menzies. The next season, subtitled "Infamy," debuted a year later and moved the horror to a Japanese internment camp in America during World War II, where the camp's inhabitants believe they're being tormented by an evil force.
AMC stayed mum on whether the show would continue for almost five years, until the February 2024 announcement that "The Terror: Devil in Silver" was coming. The upcoming six-episode season, based on Victor LaValle's novel of the same name, will star Dan Stevens (who's also an EP) as a working-class man wrongfully committed to a psychiatric hospital where he has to contend not only with the other patients and the doctors but a seemingly malevolent force that appears to live within the hospital's walls.
Stevens is a great choice for this brand of psychological horror. See also: "Legion." β CM
Karwai Tang/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; John Nacion/FilmMagic via Getty Images
Release date: TBD on Hulu
Ryan Murphy regulars, assemble!
The prolific TV creator is fresh off a busy 2024 that included the premieres of four separate shows he produced, including "Grotesquerie" and the controversial "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." He doesn't appear to be taking it easy in 2025 either.
It's unclear whether he'll again match the sheer number of projects he debuted in 2024, but he definitely has at least one coming out: "All's Fair," a legal drama about an all-female law firm of divorce attorneys coming to Hulu. The cast includes a bunch of Murphy's go-tos, including his frequent collaborator Sarah Paulson, "Feud: Capote vs. the Swans" star Naomi Watts, "Grotesquerie" star Niecy Nash, and his most recent addition to the crew, aspiring real-life lawyer Kim Kardashian, who starred in "American Horror Story" season 12.
Kardashian was surprisingly good in "AHS," so it's intriguing to see what she'll do in "All's Fair," where she's reportedly playing the protagonist. β CM
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images; Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Release date: TBD on Paramount+
Few true crime cases have captivated the public as intensely and for as long as JonBenΓ©t Ramsey's unsolved murder. The six-year-old beauty queen was found dead in her family home the day after Christmas 1996, and her killer was never identified.
The long-cold case was recently covered in a Netflix docuseries, which led to a resurgence of interest (though plenty of true-crime enthusiasts have been carefully following the case for years). The story has been dramatized before, in a 2000 miniseries and multiple TV movies, but this is the first time it's getting what appears to be the prestige TV treatment.
Most intriguingly, the series will star Melissa McCarthy as Patsy Ramsey, JonBenΓ©t's mother. This will mark an interesting pivot for McCarthy, who's chiefly known for far more light-hearted roles in comedies like "Bridesmaids" and "Tammy." β CM
NASA
Every year, the International Space Station produces some of the world's best photography.
Astronauts tend to be technically skilled with a camera, yes. Many of them are engineers, after all.
Their real photography advantage, though, is the glorious view from space as they circle our planet every 90 minutes.
From blue comets and pink northern lights to snowy volcanos and winding rivers, the view 250 miles above Earth does not disappoint.
Here are the best photos of 2024 from the space station.
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