Month: May 2024

For those who worried about The Walking Dead losing steam (and yes, those final few seasons of the principal series did drag), that fear has been put to rest with the three newest spin offs’ success in differing realms. Dead City veered into the more visceral side of the franchise, and The Ones Who Live did the same while crossing over into life-affirming territory. Whereas Daryl Dixon travelled around the world with the most endearing ass-kicker of the original crew while delivering genuinely funny scenarios amid ever-present peril.

Oh, and Daryl actually took a bath, too, which I thought would never happen. Later, the crossbow-wielding secret softie had a chance to hop onto a ship and travel back home, but he surprisingly chose to stick around, so let’s look at the clues so far on this spin off’s second season.

Plot

The first season finale revealed that Daryl (Norman Reedus) decided to heed the wishes of Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), who might be the second coming or something, and stay in France despite disappointing Sister Isabelle (Clémence Poésy), who had already asked him to do the same. That coincided with Carol (Melissa McBride) demanding answers from a-holes after realizing that Daryl’s bike had been appropriated with him nowhere to be found. Presumably, she will receive that information without too much trouble — ever since the terrifying Terminus arc, zero debate exists that Carol can perform daring rescue missions — and forge off to find her friend.

It’s a remarkable turn for those who wanted to see this show’s most incredible platonic duo back together, but it’s also a delicious development upon looking back at Carol’s entire trajectory. She went from an abused housewife to an outcast (thanks, Rick) to the fifth-season MVP. Carol never did lose that edge, not even while married to “King” Ezekiel, and if we fast forward to her latest mission, AMC’s official description for the Daryl and Carol show is as follows:

“[T]hey both confront old demons while she fights to find her friend and he struggles with his decision to stay in France, causing tension at the Nest.”

Will Carol land at the Nest? She does deserve a little rest and relaxation, and perhaps Daryl can peel a potato for her. I’d also like to see Carol knifing walker skulls with the Lourve in the background, although I’m not sure that this spin off’s characters will have a reason to return to Paris. We can hope for that and cross fingers that the circumstances of Carol’s travels are comfier than Daryl’s were while dozing atop a rowboat and washing ashore. More possible clues on that will be found in the casting section below.

Cast

Obviously, Reedus and McBride will be the main attraction, and we should see at least some of Clémence Poésy and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi. Additionally, the show has cast Manish Dayal for a recurring role. According to Deadline, The Resident actor will portray a Bostonian engineer whose locality lends some intrigue:

Dayal will play Ash, an engineer from Boston who moved to the family weekend house in Maine after the onset of the apocalypse. Ash lives by a strict schedule based mostly around his daily flights in a retrofitted single engine plane and mysterious visitations to his backyard greenhouse.

Does Ash end up in France as well, or will Daryl and Carol end up encountering him stateside? Maybe a more interesting hunch: he could be of service to Carol in her efforts to find Daryl — it is reasonable for a single-engine to cross the Atlantic, and it’s not like Carol will have too many options to choose from. Yeah, I like this theory.

Release Date

Expect the duo to reunite onscreen in Summer 2024. Hang tight for a firm date.

Trailer

No full trailer exists yet, but a teaser clip shows what Daryl is up to in France while Carol seeks answers about her friend.

Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10. The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Amazon series)

With the second season almost around the corner, there’s no time like the present for J.R.R. Tolkien junkies to reacquaint themselves with Middle-earth’s Second Age and a younger Galadriel even though some viewers have troubled over the somewhat wonky timeline shenanigans of this series. Still, Jeff Bezos wanted his Game of Thrones, and he is bound and determined to keep getting it, and refreshing on this show is also useful as a pre-game for the upcoming trilogy of new movies, including The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis and coming in 20226.

9. Madame Web (Sony movie streaming on Netflix)

No Marvel movie wants to be compared to Morbius, but that’s precisely what happened here as soon as Dakota Johnson was heard uttering that line about researching spiders in the Amazon. It’s safe to say that this show will not receive a hopeful re-release in theaters like its Jared Leto-starring Sony predecessor, but there are still enough people that either want to watch ironically or simply see what the anti-hype was all about. Quite handily, Netflix has the movie as part of its streaming package.

8. Late Night With The Devil (IFC Films movie streaming on Shudder)

The found footage trend returns in the right way in this flick where David Dastmalchian shines in leading man mode after boosting the power of a zillion ensemble casts. He portrays Jack Delroy, who ends up inviting true evil on his late-night show in an attempt to resurrect his ratings from purgatory. Whether Delroy is speaking to his TV audience (such as it is), or Dastmalchian is winking and nodding to those of us in our real homes, this film is riveting while playfully batting around the horror tropes of yesteryear. It’s also the genre picture that appears to have the best lasting streaming power since M3GAN.

7. The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Lionsgate movie on VOD & Amazon Prime)

C’mon, who doesn’t want to see Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson take out Nazis? Guy Ritchie is blanketing every onscreen medium with his “gentlemen” fixation. This film didn’t make as much of a splash as hoped at the cinema, but it’s ideal for your home theater because you can miss Reacher by watching Ritchson pretend to not look like Reacher by wearing glasses. The ensemble cast includes Eiza González, Henry Golding, Alex Pettifer, Cary Elwes, and Inglorious Basterds co-star Til Schweiger.

6. Hacks (Max series)

Two words: Christina Hendricks. Her episode dropped this week, as well as a pseudo-bottle episode where Deborah and Ava take a walk in the woods. You know that was bound to go (not) well, right? Even though the show is back in Vegas, these two installments do a fine job of shaking up the venue, so that this season isn’t entirely set against a background of blackjack tables. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder also remain a pairing for the ages, literally and figuratively.

5. Dark Matter (Apple TV+ series)

Man, Apple TV+ loves those trippy shows. This series adapts Blake Crouch’s New York Times bestseller and stars Joel Egerton as a physicist/professor who gets kidnapped by an alternate reality. He works to make it home while encountering other alternate lives, and this isn’t nearly as fun for him as it might sound on paper. Jennifer Connelly co-stars, and she probably won’t enjoy it much either when Egerton’s character has to save his own family from the Villain Dad that he has apparently become. So stressful.

4. Unfrosted (Netflix film)

Jerry Seinfeld has a comedy-chip on his shoulder lately, but he has nothing to complain about with the “cancel” talk because this (mediocre) movie about 1960s Pop-Tart inception has been faring quite well with streaming clicks. Then again, sometimes it’s nice to check out and watch breakfast-snack food’s origin story that has zero consequence. Yes, the jokes feel cringeworthy much of the time, but there’s still a buffet of Bill Burr, Maria Bakalova, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, and Hugh Grant on the table. The former sitcom king somehow still has “it” when it comes to audience attraction.

3. Baby Reindeer (Netflix series)

Richard Gadd’s rising fame is both a plus and minus these days. He’s also plowing full steam ahead on his next series, Lions, but this stunning Netflix series is staying hot despite the incredibly troublesome and harrowing subject matter. Some of the events depicted here likely resonate with many viewers, but what’s more remarkable is that Gadd, as “Donny,” has laid his own experiences on the table in this adaptation of his one-man show that won’t be leaving your brain. It’s not exactly a true-crime series, but the public’s fascination with the based-on-real-life story could arguably qualify it as such.

2. The Idea Of You (Prime Video/Amazon movie)

This story is totally not based on Harry Styles but is, yes, pretty much based on Harry Styles in his One Direction days. Nicholas Galitzine portrays the pop singer who falls for a cool Coachella mom because, c’mon, she looks exactly like Anne Hathaway. Readers of Robinne Lee’s May-December novel have been pleased by the leading pair’s chemistry and the escapism while romance seems to be ruling in May like it’s February or something.

1. Bridgerton (Netflix series)

Only this Netflix juggernaut could unseat Baby Reindeer on its own streaming service. This season updates us on Kanthony’s scratch marks and puts Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton in courtship mode. Nicola Coughlan has a f*ck-you nude scene, and only four episodes dropped so far because Netflix is having a ball with suspense. The Lady Whistledown stuff could grow complicated soon, and we’ll see more next month. Until then, enjoy the abundance of corsets and be glad that they are not in fashion now.

This summer, everyone’s trying to serve looks. And while retailers like Shein and Temu may be tempting, given their low prices and modern aesthetics, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding the production processes of these fast fashion retailers. In a sketch from tonight’s (May 18) episode of Saturday Night Live, host Jake Gyllenhaal and the cast are surprised to learn how these clothes and accessories are made.

In the clip, Ego Nwodim asks “how so cheap?” after the commercial’s narrator lists off prices — to which the narrator replies “Don’t worry about it.”

Elsewhere in the commercial, the narrator says shoppers can purchase “Designer dupes. No prisoners involved.”

Confused, Gyllenhaal asks, “Did there used to be or something? Why bring it up?”

But these aren’t the only suss parts of the fictional Xiemu line. When Chloe Fineman removes a necklace, we see that the material has given her a rash. We also see clothes fall off of Marcello Hernandez, despite Xiemu’s claims of being made from the “best materials.”

Gyllenhaal also finds a note inside his jacket pocket, however, a producer quickly snatches the note before he can read it.

“That’s a thank you note from a happy worker,” says the narrator.

You can watch the sketch above.

Sabrina Carpenter has quite the catalog of pop hits. Her debut as a Saturday Night Live musical guest made for an evening of bops galore. In her second performance of the night, Carpenter delivered an angelic performance of her hit single, “Feather”

Dressed in a rose gold one-piece garment bedecked with feathers, Carpenter took command of the stage, with smooth, flowing movements. Her dancers, dressed in white, matched her energy and created a flawless aesthetic.

“Feather” then transitioned into another one of her hit singles, “Nonsense.” The lights then changed color, creating a more intimate mood. “Nonsense” went viral earlier this year, as Carpenter performed the song during her opening slot on Taylor Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour.

During each performance, Carpenter changed the lyrics to the song’s outro, tying it the city in which she was performing. Many times, the outro was rife with sexual innuendos. And for her first time on SNL, she decided to commemorate the performance in a special way.

“He is 30 Rock hard because I said hi / My sense of humor is, but I am not dry / SNL, I just came for the first time,” sang Carpenter on the outro.

You can watch the performances of “Feather” and “Nonsense” above.

Tonight (May 18), pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter made her debut on Saturday Night Live as the season 49 finale’s musical guest. Her performance is more timely than ever, as she is currently climbing the charts with her hit single, “Espresso.” As she says on the song, “I’m working late, ’cause I’m a singer,” and she certainly put in the work for this special late night performance.

While on stage, Carpenter sits at a bar, appropriately sipping an espresso martini. She hops off of a barstool, hitting the dance floor as she holds onto each spark of energy. She moves to the group in smooth syncopation with her dancers, who are dressed as staffers of a luxurious hotel bar. Dressed in a lacy red top, Carpenter can’t stay asleep, and she’s passing along that energy to the fans.

Carpenter has a knack for coming up with pop hits, and “Espresso” has shown to be one of her biggest so far. With a catchy bass line and ’80s-inspired synths, “Espresso” is sure to be the song of the summer. The song is currently sitting at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is expected to shoot up. Now, that’s that her-espresso!

You can see a clip of the performance above.

49 is big number. Tonight (May 18), Saturday Night Live closed out its 49th season with a bang. Though finishing 49 seasons is a huge milestone, tonight’s host Jake Gyllenhaal was seemingly hoping to be in the running to host the premiere of season 50, which will take place later this year.

But of course, Gyllenhaal was determined to make this finale special. Near the end of his opening monologue, Gyllenhaal broke out into song — a special rework of Boyz II Men‘s ’90s classic, “End Of The Road.”

During his cover, Gyllenhaal surprised the audience with his pipes, delivering strong vocals as he hilariously jokes that Pedro Pascal and Ryan Gosling were asked to host this episode before him (even though they have both previously hosted this past season).

While Gyllenhaal was captivating the audience with his singing, a few of the cast members elevated the performance.

Punkie Johnson, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, and Devon Walker joined in, giving the song additional harmonies, taking it to the next level.

Although a hosting slot for the season 50 premiere of SNL is highly coveted, the quality of this opening monologue is going to be hard to match.

You can watch Gyllenhaal’s full opening monologue above.

The Dallas Mavericks are headed to their second conference finals in three years after a truly wild Game 6 that saw them erase a huge second half deficit to win 117-116 in a frantic fourth quarter finish.

After leading by as many as 17 in the third quarter, the Thunder started to go a bit cold and Dallas trimmed the deficit to a single possession for the first time in the second half with a Kyrie Irving three with just over 7 minutes to play.

The Mavs tied it a minute later on a Dereck Lively II putback dunk, and from there the game got truly wild Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his best to keep the Thunder in front, but the Mavs had found their groove offensively — with help from some huge offensive boards — and were able to take their first lead of the second half with 3:39 to play on a Luka Doncic midrange bucket.

At that point it was haymakers on both sides. Jalen Williams immediately answered back with a three to reclaim the lead for OKC, which Kyrie Irving followed with an answered prayer that bounced straight up and in from three to put Dallas back up two.

Gilgeous-Alexander knotted things back up with a midrange, before PJ Washington hit another huge three to get Dallas back in front. The Thunder finally were the team that blinked, with Chet Holmgren missing a three and then another 9-1-1 shot going in, this time a fading midrange bucket from Derrick Jones Jr. Again, Gilgeous-Alexander tried to provide the answer, hitting a huge three to cut the deficit to two.

After Dallas finally missed a shot, the Thunder were able to get the lead down to one after Washington got called for a foul before an inbounds pass, with OKC calling timeout with 27 seconds left needing a bucket of any kind to take the lead. They got SGA on a switch with Lively and with the Mavs rim protector away from the basket, they were able to set up a lob for Holmgren to go up 116-115.

https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1792022157179883806

Luka Doncic would drive the lane and lose the ball, but got it over to Washington in the corner who drew a foul on Gilgeous-Alexander for three free throws with 2.5 seconds to play. The Thunder challenged the call, but it was deemed unsuccessful because despite Gilgeous-Alexander getting ball first, the ball wasn’t out of Washington’s hand, meaning the contact after SGA got the ball was still a foul.

Washington rattled in the first two free throws and then purposefully missed the second because the Thunder had burned their last timeout to challenge, meaning all they got was a heave from Jalen Williams that went begging.

It was a brutal way to lose for the Thunder, as Gilgeous-Alexander was sensational all game, scoring 36 points to lead all scorers and dished out eight assists, but that final foul will haunt his offseason. Williams had his best game of the series with 22 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while Holmgren added 21 points.

The problem was, they couldn’t get enough timely stops — in part because they couldn’t secure the rebound to end the possession. Dallas had 14 offensive boards, helping negate a sloppy game with 17 turnovers. Lively had four of those as part of his 15-rebound night off the bench (chipping in 12 points) as his presence in the paint flipped the game on its head — he was a +26 in a one-point win. Doncic and Irving were terrific, combining for 51 points with Irving once again doing most of his damage late. They got a big contribution from Jones Jr., who had 22 points and hit four big threes, while Washington had timely buckets late and hit the clinching free throws.

Dallas will now await the winner of Sunday’s Game 7 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets in Denver.

The biggest heavyweight fight in a very long time took place on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, as undefeated four-belt holder Oleksandr Usyk faced undefeated lineal champ Tyson Fury with the undisputed heavyweight crown on the line.

The fight lived up to the billing, with the two champs impressing at different stages of the fight. Fury, the favorite coming in, looked like he was taking control in the middle rounds until a stunning flurry from Usyk in the ninth round flipped the bout on its head. Usyk rocked Fury with a left that he didn’t see coming, and then chased Fury around the ring, battering him with punches and bouncing him off the ropes before the referee stepped in for an 8-count. Fury would finish the fight, but that 10-8 round was the difference in a Usyk split decision win and a split draw on the cards, giving the slight underdog the win and all five belts.

That ninth round effort will live in the minds of many for some time, with Drake being among them for the wrong reasons. Prior to the fight, Drake posted to Instagram that he had a $565,000 bet on Fury to win, and for a long time that looked like it had a good chance to cash until that ninth round changed everything.

Drake is no stranger to taking some losses this month, as his battle with Kendrick Lamar was a resounding majority decision win for K Dot in the eyes of the public. He tossed a little over half a million onto the fire by backing Fury, as a tough May continues for The Boy.

Oleksandr Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, as he took a split decision victory over Tyson Fury to claim the WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF, and IBO titles and leave little doubt about his credentials as an elite heavyweight.

Most had the two tied on the cards through six rounds, but it seemed Fury had started to stake claim to the fight from there, as he caught Usyk with some big shots and was starting to control the tempo and lean on the smaller Usyk. However, things changed in a big way late in the ninth round when Usyk absolutely teed off on Fury and had him wobbling all over the ring and bouncing off ropes until the referee stepped in to give Fury the standing 8 count.

Fury was absolutely battered in the ninth, and while he never touched the canvas, that knockdown by referee stoppage was huge in a very close fight. Fury would recover and finish the fight, but that ninth round allowed Usyk to take control and continue his run through the heavyweight division.

The cards were extremely tight, with Fury winning 114-113 on one and Usyk winning 115-112 and 114-113, meaning his 10-8 ninth was the difference in getting a win rather than a split draw.

Fury, unsurprisingly, stated afterwards that he felt he won the fight, and a rematch seems all but guaranteed. You’ll be hard-pressed to find fans that won’t want another bout between the two, as they delivered on the promise of an undisputed heavyweight champioship fight, and how they adjust for a second matchup would be fascinating.

It appears inflation, rising housing costs, and more hasn’t had an impact Paul McCartney’s financial footing. While those around the globe witness their dollars shrinking, The Beatles’ former bassist has crossed a major money milestone.

According to The Sunday Times, the “I’ve Got A Feeling” musician is officially a billionaire. Entertainers induction into the top 1 percent club is quite common in the US. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna, are just a few of the singers to reportedly cross the billion dollar network threshold. But the outlet revealed that this is the first time a UK musician has accomplished this feat.

In 2023, McCartney’s net worth was estimated at £950 million (which is equivalent to roughly $1,203,126). However, over the last year, McCartney’s lucrative tour dates supposedly earned him an additional £50 million. Of the 350 sum odd entries, McCartney landed at 291 (up from 2023’s 309 placement).

Other musicians featured on 2024 Rich List include The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as Elton John. Elton John holds down the 291st slot with a reported network of £470m, which supposed jumped £20 million from 2023 (when he landed at 309). In the 315th spot, Jagger’s net worth is estimated at £415 million. Richards follows at 319 with the same net worth.

The ‘Billionaire Beatle’ sort of has a ring to it.