Month: May 2024

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

“[T]he internet is always evolving—with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways—so our policies and protections need to evolve, too,” Chang continued.

The new policy also allows people to request the removal of personal information in Search that could be used for financial fraud such as log-in credentials or account numbers.

Hereu2019s how you can remove your phone number, email and other personal information from Google search results.https://cnet.co/3y6utEa

— CNET (@CNET)
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Although Google’s new policy is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t cure the problem altogether. “It’s important to remember that removing content from Google Search won’t remove it from the internet, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you’re comfortable doing so,” Chang said.

Do you have any personal information that pops up in Google Search that you’d like to have removed? Visit the topic’s support page, scroll down and click the “Start removal request” link. As you follow the prompts you will be able to specify the personal information that shows up in Search and will be asked to share a list of relevant search terms, such as your full name, maiden name and nickname. You’ll also be able to share supplemental details before submitting the request.

After your request is submitted, you should receive an email from Google confirming the request was received. It’s unclear how long the removal process will take.

Google’s new policy changes come during a surge in online fraud. The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost $5.8 billion to scammers in 2021, a jump of 70% from the previous year.

A big portion of fraud is committed through online scams as well as identity theft and telephone solicitations.

In an attempt to give the FTC more power to fight back against fraud, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Commerce Committee, will introduce legislation this week to make it easier for the Committee to sue deceptive companies and scammers.

“If the FTC remains disarmed of this critical authority, millions of consumers and small businesses who’ve been scammed, swindled, or locked out of competitive marketplaces will never be made whole,” Cantwell said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on 05.03.22

An unsupervised toddler with a pair of scissors is nightmare fuel for parents.

Will you find shredded books, a hole in your new couch, or a pile of lopped off hair when you emerge from your quick trip to the potty?

Toddlers may still be very young, but they are fast and have a knack for getting ahold of unapproved things quickly, inflicting maximum destruction. TikTok user, @designerluxury4you, shared a video of their toddler proudly showing off the haircut she had given herself.

Experiencing your child giving themselves or their siblings a haircut seems to be a rite of passage for parents.

But the way this mom handled the discovery is showing how gentle parenting is changing the game. It’s pretty safe to say that most parents would react in a more expressive way and immediately remove the scissors from the child’s hands. This mom responded in the kindest and most respectful way you can imagine and maybe the internet is a little better for having seen it.

When the mom walks in to see her daughter holding a pair of child’s scissors, she calmly asks, “What’d you do?” to which the now mullet-sporting toddler explains her actions. The little girl, Max, says, “I cutted all of it off and I put it on here.” While the toddler is finishing her story we get a quick glimpse of the pile of blonde hair sitting on the nightstand. This is the point that seems to divide the commenters because the reaction isn’t anger or even a stern tone. Instead, this shocked mom says, “Oh, wow. You did a really good job, Max.”

The mom asked if her daughter felt better since her hair was no longer in her face, to which Max answered, “Yep.” Max was given several options, including going to the hairdresser to fix it. The video cuts off before we find out the toddler’s choice, but the mom’s reaction was the topic of discussion in the comments.

One person wrote, “Seriously, this is impressive parenting. What a gift you are to her.”

Another said, “Wow, you handled that so well lol she’s so adorable.”

Others were confused and more critical of the mom’s calm reaction and lack of consequences. Someone wrote, “I just can’t with gentle parenting. She lost me when she said no but allowed it anyway.”

A different user expressed confusion, writing, “Not knocking gentle parenting but at the end of the day how does she learn this was wrong and not to do it again?”

There were multiple comments reminding people that even though the girl is a toddler, it’s still her hair and she should get to decide what to do with it.

Watch the video below. Do you think this mom handled this situation well?

@designerluxury4u

Talent #gamimy #kidsoftiktok #girlpower #beautician ##parentsoftiktok

This story originally aired on 1.4.23

It seems that Adele is going viral once again.

Perhaps you’ve seen the image in question previously (it seems to make the rounds every couple of years). But in case you missed it—it’s Adele’s face. Normal, just upside down.

Only it’s not normal. In fact, when you turn Adele’s face right side up, what you notice is that her eyes and mouth were actually right-side up THE ENTIRE TIME, even though the entire head was upside down. So when you turn the head right side up, the eyes and mouth are now UPSIDE-DOWN—and you can’t unsee it. Do you feel like you’re Alice in Wonderland yet?

Just wait. Things get even more fascinating. Especially because this optical illusion is over 40 years in the making.

Below you’ll find the Adele photo in question. Go ahead. Take a look at it. Then turn the image upside down.

Crazy right? And just a little terrifying?

As the Facebook post explains, this mind-boggling image highlights a phenomenon known as the Thatcher effect. Our brains, so much more used to recognizing faces that are right-side up, have difficulty detecting specific changes once a face is upside down.

Seeing that everything is more or less where it should be, our brains don’t notice anything out of the ordinary in Adele’s face until we turn her face back to a normal position.

The Thatcher effect got its name from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on whose photograph it was first demonstrated back in 1980 by Peter Thompson, Professor of Psychology at York University.

This demonstration was one of the first to explore just how facial recognition works, and certainly the first to suggest that humans (and monkeys, it turns out) process faces on a more holistic level, rather than by individual components like lips and eyes. Since its publication, there has been a wealth of research exploring how our brain takes in both subtle and striking facial configurations.

Funny enough, it was once believed that this illusion only worked on the Prime Minister’s face. But as Adele has proven, anyone can be Thatcherized.

This article originally appeared on 8.31.23

Despite society having made a lot of progress when it comes to same-sex relationships and alternative families, it’s not so commonplace that many queer parents are still presented with questions about their lifestyle from straight people.

And while queer parents probably (rightfully) grow tired of answering certain questions day in and day out, having open conversation helps break through the lack of understanding which causes stigma and misconceptions in the first place.

In a now-viral video shared to their Instagram, lesbian moms Allie and Sam Conway answer commonly asked questions they get as a queer married couple with twins.

Of course, they started with the age-old question:

“Who’s the real mom?”

Though people by and large are able to differentiate biological connection from emotional connection (like with adoptive parents or step-parents to take on an active role in their step children’s lives), this is still a question that same-sex parents face regularly. And it’s a fairly harmful one at that, as it implicitly undermines the non-biological parent’s role in the family.

So, to Sam’s point: “We’re both the mom.”

Allie also told Upworthy that the usual response to this answer is “oh my gosh! That’s amazing!” Which makes her—and us—”smile so much.”

Next up:

“Who’s the dad?”

To which they replied: “there isn’t a dad.”

This is also a question fused with negative connotation, as it suggests a father figure is necessary for raising well-adjusted kids. But research shows that kids born to same-sex parents fare just as well as the children of straight couples, indicating that what’s really necessary for a child’s development is two healthy, loving parents. That’s it.

Okay, this next one actually had an answer that surprised some folks:

“Who carried them?”

Though Sam wanted to be the one to get pregnant, Allie agreed to try after Sam’s “long fertility journey” of three IUI’s, three embryo transfers and multiple chemical pregnancies with one miscarriage.

However, the couple used Sam’s eggs, and Sam did the breastfeeding.

How the heck did that happen, you might wonder. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. So did lots of viewers. Sam underwent induced lactation, which tricks the body into thinking it’s pregnant and producing breast milk—it’s something often utilized by adoptive mothers.

Lastly, a fun one:

“What do the kids call you?”

“Mummy and other mummy,” Sam quipped. “We’re rotating all day,” Allie added.

See on Instagram

Without proper understanding, stigma persists. That’s how myths like “queer parents turn their children gay” or “children of two-mother families are more likely to be bullied” continue. And while it’s certainly not the responsibility of parents like Allie and Sam to educate folks on the realities of queer parenting, it’s great that they do offer genuine insight.

And thankfully, they are usually met with positive reactions from people, Allie tells Upworthy. Which only further encourages them to answer more question and offer glimpses into “different types of families.”

At the end of the day, families are made up of people who love and support one another. Everything else is just window dressing.

Check out even more heartwarming family content from Allie and Sam on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on 3.15.24

There are many things that can shake our faith in humanity, from the inane bickerings of people on social media to the fact that humans are still trying to war their way to peace.

But amidst the negative news and division-pushing algorithms, we find glimpses of hope, gems of human decency and kindness that don’t make the headlines but are happening every day, all around us. There are so many people who are willing to go out of their way to help out others—not just their friends and neighbors but perfect strangers as well.

Someone on Reddit asked people to share the nicest thing a stranger has done for them, and it’s a mood-boosting, faith-restoring collection of human goodness.

The question was posed with a story of a mom who was at the mall with her toddler, watching a train ride that you could ride for a $1. She was broke and didn’t have any cash, but her kiddo was content to watch. A group of loud teens went by, and then one of them came back to put some money in the machine for her son, saying, “I always liked watching trains too.” Her son lit up, and the teen went on his way.

“I never would have expected that action from a stranger, let alone a teen with his friends in a mall,” she wrote.

Another parent added a similar story, but from an older couple instead of a teen.

“When my son was a toddler he loved the mini merry-go-round that operated for 50 cents or something like that.

We happened to be at the mall, and this elderly couple asked if it would be okay that they could pay for a few rounds for him to play on it cuz they just wanted to enjoy watching a child play.

That memory has stuck with me as clear as day even though my son is now a young adult. I have every intention on being that kind of elderly couple.” – ThatCanadianRadTech

The teens are often more helpful than we’d expect, though, as another person shared:

“One time my wife was at the mall with our autistic then 4 year old. They went to get on the escalator. My wife thought she was there with her, but at the last moment she backed off, and didn’t realize until she was well on her way up.

This is one of those escalators where the up is not right next to the down, it’s on the other side of the hall.

My wife is freaking out over our kid stuck at the bottom, who’s afraid to come up on her own, but my wife doesn’t want to leave eyesight to go around to the down.

A rowdy group of teens walks by, sees what’s going on, immediately stops being rowdy and helps our girl go up the escalator.

The teens are alright.” – Helagoth

It’s amazing how a simple kindness shown to a child can make a lasting impact.

“When I was maybe 6 or 7 I was trying to win a mini basketball at cedar point at one of the basketball carnival scam games. I obviously failed and then this guy next to me was like “great shot kid, you deserve this” and gave me a mini charlotte hornets ball he had just won. He had a bag of them he had won and was going around giving them to the kids that were playing and failing. I’m 39 now and never forgot this. And because of that one random day I have always made an effort to gift any random prize to a kid so maybe he’ll do the same for someone else. The only thing I’m any good at is claw machines so I’ll hand off my prize to anyone that’s trying and failing or anyone that stops to watch me try. But random carnival basketball savant changed my life for the better just a little bit.” – TheMayb

And it’s even better when you’re single parent struggling to make ends meet.

“When I was a single mom going through my divorce, I saved up enough to bring my 4yo to an amusement park. At the light show my kiddo asked for a cotton candy I couldn’t afford.

An older couple was sitting behind us, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if they could get my daughter the cotton candy.

I turned to thank them again after the show and they were gone.

25 years I’ve never forgotten that.” – A-typ-self

And it’s even more heartwarming when it’s kindness from one kid to another. Those kindnesses stick with us forever.

“When I was a kid, I remember going to this girl scout event that had a bunch of different stations with activities and crafts and all that jazz, and we each got a balloon to take home too. We didn’t have a helium thing at home, so we never had balloons so getting a balloon to take home was the shit. (Remember when Applebee’s used to give a balloon to every kid to take home? Them were the days.) Anyways, my mom came to pick me up, and as we were walking across the parking lot to the car the balloon string somehow slipped through my fingers, and my precious balloon was lost to the sky. I was devastated. I’m pretty sure I even cried. And then this little girl who was also leaving with her mom walked over and gave me her balloon. I’ll never forget that.

Such a small act of kindness, and from another child. We have such power to brighten a stranger’s day, and it truly takes very little effort from us to do that. We should all strive to be just a little bit kinder to each other. It could make such a difference.” – k_shon

Kindness doesn’t always look like doing something for someone, but simply opening your home to them.

“My coworker’s mom let me stay at her house overnight on the weekends between my work shifts as I used to live an hour away from my workplace (my old job did me dirty on the schedule change). I used to go to her house at midnight and leave at 4 AM the next morning, and she never charged me. I had my own room and key to come in and out without disturbing her and her husband.

Before, I was bouncing around sleeping at Airbnbs, motels, and even my workplace for several months, whatever I could afford. I couldn’t leave my job because I was under a two-year contract. My coworker’s mom let me stay at her house for 8 months, but I only met/saw her once when she gave me the key to her house during that whole time before I finally broke my contract.

I will never forget her kindness to literally let a stranger into her home.” – 8-bit-butterfly

Sometimes just having a stranger notice when we seem to be struggling is enough to touch our hearts.

“I was having a bad day and was trying not to cry in public but sometimes it’s hard not to when I get amped to a certain point. I was just coming home from integration course and was having a hard time dealing with estrangement from my family and adjusting to life in Germany at the same time. Unfortunately the sniffles started coming out and another young woman stopped and asked if I was okay. I really appreciated her kindness even though it was embarrassing. I eventually got home and ugly cried.” – karmamarmafarma

And it’s just as touching even if we’re not actually struggling emotionally.

“Was going towards the bus stop at like 6am on a freezing winter morning, it was dark, the wind was biting into my cheeks. I’m super sensitive, so immediately I started sniffling, trying to keep my nose from running, but my eyes went straight into water mode. Usual for me, just put headphones on and thanked the inventor of waterproof mascara.

A young woman walking the opposite direction saw me, and in a split second was next to me, hand on my arm, asking if I am alright.

I still think about her to this day and I hope she is doing well. The pure concern and care of a stranger really moved me, and I am thankful for pure beautiful people like her.” – TaoKitt

And it’s extra touching when kindness comes someone who’s been there and knows exactly what you need in the moment.

“The day my wife died, I left the hospital to go home to meet our families. On the way I realised that after 20 days going in and out of of the Icu my presses were bare of food and such. I pulled into the local supermarket to pick up some essentials. I remember walking into the store and completely blanking Just standing in the aisle. It was as if the adrenaline or something just vanished.

Suddenly a elderly lady hooked my arm whispered in my ear, ‘I know that look, let’s just get you some essentials.’ Picking up milk tea etc. Paying for it, walking me back to my car where she hugged me telling me that she was sorry for my loss. I never got to thank her and for months I went to the store on the same day at the same time hoping to see and thank her. Nine years later every so often I go to the store at the same time looking for her. I can never forget her kindness.” – ben0368

As another commenter put it, we never seem to hear enough about the good people of the world. If that seems true and if you enjoy collections like these, Upworthy’s book “GOOD PEOPLE: Stories From the Best of Humanity” is full of them. It’s coming out in September and is available for pre-order now here.

For most golfers, the game is as enjoyable as it is frustrating. It’s one of the few sports where, for the most part, you’re playing against yourself. The goal isn’t usually to beat your buddies but to play a few strokes below your last game. It’s all about measurable self-improvement. When you feel like you’re getting worse, you get a strange desire to chuck your putter into the nearest pond.

Golf is so challenging that only 50% of people who pick up a club can break a score of 100, which isn’t exactly impressive.

In a heartbreaking Reddit post, a golfer who goes by the name Drumsurf on the forum shared how he learned to enjoy every moment of an unimpressive round because he realized what the game was all about: hanging out with friends and, to put it simply, just being able to play.

Sadly, his great realization came on the final of his life.

“I’m 53 and have been playing since I was 19-20. Love the game. Got diagnosed with stage IV cancer in 2020 and kept playing between chemo sessions, surgeries, etc.” Drumsurf wrote on a May 15, 2024 post. “My cancer has gone nuclear and I took I turn for the worse 2 months ago. I can no longer physically handle playing 18 holes or so much of anything that’s active.”

But that didn’t stop him from playing one last round with his friends. His game started strong but quickly faltered.

“I went today with two long-time friends and managed to play the first three holes 1 over par, but then my lack of fitness caught up to me,” he continued. “I took a double on 4, hit my drive in the water on 5, and spent the rest of the round riding in the cart and nursing a Transfusion. Fun to hang with friends and be out of the house, but I’m done with the game. Brutal, really, as I will miss it greatly.”

He ended his post with a message for everyone who’s ever had a hard time on the course. “Next time you get frustrated with golf remember those of us that can’t play any longer. Hit ‘em straight boys!” Drumsurf wrote.

The piece was a welcome wake-up call to many of the duffers on Reddit’s golf forum who’ve all experienced frustrating rounds.

“Thanks, man. It really puts it all in perspective,” Helloholder wrote. “We are all one golfer. You’ll always be out there with us,” Downwithflairs added.

“I’ll drive one into the water for you,” Head_Attempt joked.

“I will not get mad the next time I hit a garbage shot. I’ll think of you and take inspiration. We are with you, my friend,” KbPHoto wrote.

Some people paid tribute to Drumsurf by writing his name on their golf balls to remember his wisdom on their next round.

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After the post went viral, Drumsurf updated it by thanking everyone who chimed in with messages of support. “Thanks for all the well wishes,” Drumsurf wrote. “My battle is over. Stopped all treatment last month and started hospice care last week. I’m 100% at peace with it all.”

Contrary to popular belief, murders are not only in New York buildings, but they happen everywhere. The Only Murders in the Building crew are returning for a fourth season, this time in the horrifying far away land of Los Angeles.

Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short are back for another season of the comedy series, which will premiere on Hulu this summer. The jam-packed crop of episodes are slated to be the “starriest season yet” thanks to a handful of guest appearances, a new location, and some In-N-Out, obviously.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming season.

Plot

The fourth season brings bigger and better opportunities as the gang is asked to help make a film based on their popular true crime podcast, which is not as easy as it seems. As the season four synopsis teases, Charles-Haden Savage (played by Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) wrestle with the “shocking events at the end of season 3 surrounding Charles’ stunt double and friend Sazz Pataki. Questioning whether she or Charles was the intended victim, their investigation leads them all the way to Los Angeles where a Hollywood studio is readying a film about the Only Murders podcast. As Charles, Oliver, and Mabel race back to New York, they embark on an even more epic journey — traversing their building’s courtyard to delve into the twisted lives of the Arconia’s West Tower residents.”

Showrunner John Hoffman previously teased what to expect in season four of Only Murders in the Building.

“I think the idea of what you create is a thing you put out to the world, and sometimes you can’t be prepared for the repercussions of what potentially the world does with your thing, and how they feel about it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s a challenging line to walk, and sometimes you have to face it in that way. So, the podcast and everything else that’s happened, and what it all means, and what it could have been meaning all along. That’s a really interesting world to look at for these three who stepped in that way.”

OK, but can we expect a Wizards of Waverly Place crossover?

Cast

Not only will the three main players of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez return, but this season will bring even more guest stars on board. Melissa McCarthy, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani, and Richard Kind all appear in the upcoming season. Returning stars include Meryl Streep (who is NOT dating Martin Short… maybe), Jane Lynch, Michael Cyril Creighton and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

Release Date

The fourth season of Only Murders in the Building premieres on Hulu on August 27, with new episodes releasing every subsequent Tuesday.

Trailer

The season four trailer was released in May. Check it out:

It’s tough to match an episode of television to its title. “Which one is ‘The One Where Ross Finds Out’ again?” OK, maybe Friends doesn’t have this problem, and neither does Interview with the Vampire.

The critically-acclaimed AMC series starring Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt has some distinct episode titles, including this week’s: “Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death.” It’s not only a line from author Anne Rice’s gothic novel that the show is based on, it also makes for a memorable title. But how can you watch it?

How To Watch Interview With The Vampire Season 2, Episode 2

The second episode of Interview with the Vampire‘s second season, “Do You Know What It Means to Be Loved by Death,” premieres on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, May 17, at 9 p.m. EST. Here’s more:

In the year 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) recounts his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Picking up from the bloody events in New Orleans in 1940 when Louis and teen fledgling Claudia (Delainey Hayles) conspired to kill the Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), Louis tells of his adventures in Europe, a quest to discover Old World Vampires and the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris, with Claudia. It is in Paris that Louis first meets the Vampire Armand (Assad Zaman). Their courtship and love affair will prove to have devastating consequences both in the past and in the future, and Molloy will probe to get to the truths buried within the memories.

You can watch a preview of the episode below.

There are certain life lessons no one bothers to tell you. That credit scores are a scam. That you’re supposed to replace your pillows (and your car’s brake pads). That friendships, no matter how meaningful and valued, can fray under the pressures of adulthood. That last sobering truth is what drives most of the drama (and laughs) in Babes, a buddy-birth comedy that sees Broad City alum Ilana Glazer and comedian Michelle Buteau navigate the joys and nauseating amount of bodily fluids that come with motherhood.

Glazer and her fellow Broad City vet Josh Rabinowitz teamed up to pen the script for the indie flick which premiered earlier this year at SXSW and was directed by Better Things creator/star Pamela Adlon. The pair were musing about the pitfalls of parenting (long before either would actually welcome their own children) and wondering why a Judd Apatow movie was the only notable entry in the pregnancy comedy canon.

“It’s truly insulting,” Glazer tells UPROXX of the lack of female fronted friendship comedies that touch on that all-too-relatable era of adulthood. “Knocked Up was kind of where we were like, ‘Really? There’s this sort of gaping hole here. That’s the only one that fills it, but it’s about Seth Rogen?’”

With Glazer pregnant and Rabinowitz also readying to welcome a baby with his wife, the duo started taking notes on all of the wild, unexpected, often nightmarish side effects of deciding to have children. From hair loss to unexplained horniness, exhaustion and poop, Glazer tapped into the no-holds-barred joke-per-minute writing style that made her Comedy Central show so popular to tackle the next phase of her life. The result? A buddy comedy brave enough to mine the body horror of pregnancy for laughs (unlike Glazer’s False Positive, which played more into scares), and smart enough to keep it from becoming the punchline.

While Babes has been described in early reviews as the “Bridesmaids of babymaking,” it shares more in common with Apatow’s Superbad than anything else, centering on two friends (Eden, Glazer’s free-spirited yoga teacher, and Dawn, Buteau’s overworked mother of two) struggling to maintain their friendship in the midst of some massive life changes. But both films serve as its storytelling compass.

“I think the pregnancy and being parents of young children was where the comedy was coming from. But for the story, it was really Dawn and Eden’s change that was our North Star tonally,” Glazer explains.

When audiences first meet the pair, they’re clinging to a childhood tradition, taking a trip to the theater on Thanksgiving Day despite the fact that Dawn could pop out baby number two at any moment. That moment comes before opening commercials, but both women are so nonplussed, they decide to enjoy a luxurious lunch before Dawn heads to the hospital. The result is likely the funniest sequence in the film, a feat of physical comedy only Buteau could believably pull off. She’s never almost given birth in a lobby before, but Babes might just be the most organic role she’s ever been offered. She’s known Glazer for decades and cut her teeth on the comedy scene as part of the same class as the film’s supporting cast – everyone from Hasan Minhaj to the Lucas Brothers play a part here. More importantly, she was experiencing the some of the same child rearing mishaps as her on-screen counterpart.

“The friend that’s got the two kids and is overwhelmed and can barely have time to wipe her shit properly?” Buteau jokes. “Yeah, it felt really natural from jump.”

While Dawn is married and living comfortably on the Upper West Side, Eden is stuck schlepping from Astoria to keep their friendship alive, choosing an alternative life path that slowly causes a rift, widened not by time, space, or continents but something even more insurmountable – the N Train. A chance meeting and a surprise pregnancy spark another life lesson – you can in fact get pregnant on your period – and even more friction between the two women. Dawn, clearly suffering with post-partum depression, doesn’t have the energy to play surrogate doula to her naïve and somewhat self-centered bestie while Eden, terrified to start on this new journey alone, is fed up with scheduling her life around her friend’s breakdowns.

Glazer thought the choice to have Eden keep the baby felt subversively pro-choice, and also served to up the stakes in terms of the duo’s floundering friendship.

“I think Michelle and I, especially being comedians, we’ve been reflecting on our identities and fighting for ourselves, to exist in spaces for over two decades,” Glazer says of injecting herself in Eden’s decision regarding motherhood. “I think even if we’re objects of desire, we are taking pleasure. You couldn’t get an oppressed perspective from us. Anything can be construed any which way, but our body, our choice means no matter what the fuck that choice is.”

The irony that the film premiered at SXSW in Texas, a state notorious for hacking away at women’s right to bodily autonomy wasn’t lost on them either.

“It’s so crazy,” Glazer says. “People in our government are working against us, comedians are speaking for us. Some comedians [use] this stage for such violent words. Michelle and I really value comedy as a spiritual practice that can connect people and reach different kinds of people.”

Both stars have changed their approach to comedy over the years. Glazer’s made a return to stand-up with last year’s Ilana Glazer Live! Tour while Buteau is beginning work on the second season of her Netflix hit, Survival of the Thickest, a rowdy romp filled with body positivity and pubes gags. Neither are suffering from the kind of Peter Pan Syndrome that seems to be afflicting so many of their older, male cohorts.

“I don’t think it’s limited to comedy,” Buteau says of the shift in perspective of certain comedians and comedy circles. “I think the fear of growth is also the fear of failure. ‘Who am I and what does it mean?’ And instead of shying away from it, I wish more people would do a deep dive because you can evolve, you can grow. It doesn’t have to be what made you popular or feel good 10 years ago and that’s okay. It can be different.”

“People just get really stuck, and they are triggered by words instead of meaning,” she continues. “[They’re] like, ‘You can’t say anything anymore!’ But yeah man, that’s good. Maybe it was really hurtful and fucking violent, and now we can grow and say something else. We make up words all the time. Our whole language is made up.”

With Babes, Buteau and Glazer brought the best of their stand-up habits to filming, improvising to a dizzying degree and shocking each other with how gross they’re comedy could be.

“It’s a little psycho,” Glazer says of her co-star’s natural ability to conjure whole riffs out of thin air, something Buteau responds to with a good natured, “Stop it, bitch.”

Both comedians hope Babes fills a bit of a void in the buddy comedy space, offering up something fresh that speaks to audiences navigating their own life changes and worried some friendships might not be meant to last. Their only warning? Anything a penis can do (comedically) a vulva can do better.

“It’s definitely a hard comedy,” Glazer explains. “But it’s one with a lot of heart that everyone can laugh at. Pause from whatever the fuck is going out on there and really take pleasure in what’s going in this film.”

The Umbrella Academy began with an apocalypse-thwarting story then headed back to the 1960s before dealing with the mother of apocalypses (Kugelblitz) in the third season. What’s left, especially when the Netflix series has now moved past the comic-book source material from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá?

The Hargreeves siblings will now find themselves power-free after a little reset-button madness. Elliot Page’s Victor uttered the last (profane) word, and sure, the show could have ended there and made sense with everyone heading off into “normalcy” after living life as screwed-up super beings from a Bad Dad who spontaneously impregnated their mothers on the same day. Yet Netflix opted to bring back the cast and crew to properly tie up the beloved series. The show now sits in a very different place after the fam dispensed with the Sparrow Academy. In short, this is chaos, so let’s talk about what is to come.

Plot

Since the show has headed into Game of Thrones territory, so to speak (by going off book), we can cross fingers that nobody ends up flying atop a dragon while going mad. Actually, the group might be too mundane when we first see them, but expect that to change. I can only imagine how benevolent cult leader Klaus (Robert Sheehan) could fare as an ordinary dude, but showrunner Steve Blackman revealed that another sibling has adjusted quite well:

“Victor is probably the one sibling who is most comfortable in his skin in season 4,” Blackman says. “He’s doing better than any of the other siblings in terms of adjusting to his new life. He’s the most accepting of their new reality.”

Not only does that speak to the power of Victor’s former (destructive) abilities, but it also says a lot about how they took charge of their identity in the third season. The siblings will begin their final chapter apart, but they will come together again in “chaos” because they will (obviously) probably have to save the world again. As for whatever the hell Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) actually meant to do with the reset button, Blackman revealed that perhaps this did not go according to somebody’s plan:

“Fans may remember that at the end of season 3, Hargreeves wasn’t able to finish programming the Universe Machine, and Allison still pressed the button anyway. o we’re definitely in an altered version of our now. We’re back to the time period they’ve always wanted to get back to! At least they start in the right year, but we know that something isn’t right. My little teaser is clearly Hargreeves didn’t finish what he needed to do before Alison pressed the button, so that is going to have repercussions to their timeline.”

Before the action commences, however, expect to see some gloomy-ass moods. The first episode will be titled, “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.”

Netflix has provided a nebulous description, too:

Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?

Cast

The fam is back, officially. That includes Elliot Page (Victor Hargreeves), Tom Hopper (Luther Hargreeves), Robert Sheehan (Klaus Hargreeves), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison Hargreeves), David Castañeda (Diego Hargreeves), Aidan Gallagher (Number Five), and Justin H. Min (Ben Hargreeves). Wildcard Ritu Arya (Lila Pitts) also returns as well as and Colm Feore (Reginald Hargreeeves).

We don’t yet know which characters surface as the newest rivals, but this season will also include David Cross (“as a man desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter”), who recently told UPROXX that “it was a f*cking treat and an honor to be a part of that.” Additionally, a pair of college professors will be portrayed by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally.

Release Date

August 8 will bring this saga to a close. Get ready to binge.

Trailer

No trailer exists yet, but here’s the cast revealing what they can without getting yanked away by a cane.