A grandmother always felt her middle granddaughter Lindsay, 15, looked slightly different from the rest of the family because she had blonde, curly hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark “I thought genetics was being weird and I love her,” she wrote on Reddit’s AITA forum.
But things became serious after Linday’s parents “banned” her from taking things a step further and getting a DNA test. If the family was sure their daughter was theirs, why would they forbid her from seeking clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the law, the situation started to seem a little suspicious.
“I told my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy around her birth she needed to know. They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandma wrote.
Lindsay wouldn’t give up her quest. She approached her biology teacher, who admitted that it was “odd” for her to have such different traits. This confusion was too much for Lindsay, so she went to her grandmother for help. “She came to me distressed, asking me to buy a DNA test since she needs to know,” the grandmother wrote.
The grandmother purchased a DNA test and it proved their suspicions. “Long story short, she is not her mother’s kid,” the grandmother wrote. “My son got someone else pregnant and her bio mom gave her up.”
The interesting thing was that Lindsay was a middle child. So, the dad had a baby with another woman while he was with his wife. This revelation begs the question: How did the family suddenly have a baby out of nowhere without people being suspicious?
“They were on the other side of the country when she was born, and I met Lindsey when she was about 6 months old. Really not hard to hide the whole thing,” the grandmother wrote. “Our family has a history of miscarriages, so it’s common to drop news about a baby late in the pregnancy. They did the same with their oldest and didn’t think anything about it.”
The big revelation has caused friction in the family. The family no longer talks to the grandmother, which makes Lindsay even more furious about the situation.
Should the grandmother have taken such drastic steps if she knew what could happen if her suspicions were true? The commenters on Reddit overwhelmingly supported the grandmother’s decision. The big reason was that Lindsay needed to know her family history for medical reasons.
“Your son and his wife suck for lying to her until she is 15 about something so important and trying to keep lying to her even after she obviously started to question things. There are medical reasons a person might need to know what their genetics are/are not, and if you hadn’t helped her, she would have found out some other way,” Shake_Speare423 wrote.
Another commenter noted that protecting the parents’ lie wasn’t nearly as important as Lindsay’s mental health.
“People have a right to know their genetic heritage. Lying about adoption is linked to increased suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression. You put her safety and comfort ahead of your son’s preferences. Parental rights do not have greater value than a child’s right to access comprehensive medical care, and hiding an adoption does precisely that. Maybe some things, like a child staying healthy, should matter more than a parent’s right to lie, gaslight and manipulate their child as they see fit,” RemembrancerLirael added.
The commenters overwhelmingly supported the grandma for putting herself into an uncomfortable situation to protect her granddaughter’s mental and physical health. However, one commenter noted that she could have gone about it in a less polarizing way.
“Bit out of the norm for the responses here, but you should have gone through your son [and daughter-in-law] and convinced them. Told them that the biology teacher had highlighted that she had traits that didn’t make sense, etc. and convinced them that Lindsey would find out either way,” PhilMcGraw wrote. “It would have allowed them to find a way to tell her without it being forced on them angrily. A DNA test is the absolute worst way to be told. I’m sure they would have much rather told her than let her find out by a DNA test if that is what was coming.”
New Year’s Eve is often a night filled with celebratory shots and champagne toasts. But as the party night fast approaches, one doctor is gently reminding folks the importance of partying responsibly during the holidays. Really, it’s a piece of advice that’s important all year long.
Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, an Ohio based neurosurgeon with over two decades of experience, has a TikTok channel filled with educational videos and lifestyle tips. But it’s his latest clip explaining just how long it takes our bodies to break down alcohol that has gone viral.
In the video, which was shared on Christmas Day, Dr. Hoeflinger sets the scene of a party where “a lot of drinks are going down” by setting up a bunch of shot glasses filled with water.
“Say you’re having five drinks in the first hour,” he says, taking five fake, water-filled shots. “As you’re taking them, that alcohol is building up in your system fast. [It] goes to your brain within five minutes and starts to affect you.”
The same can’t be said for other parts of the body. As Dr. Hoeflinger noted, “your liver only metabolizes one ounce of alcohol per hour.” And according to Northwestern Medicine, that process only begins 20 minutes after consumption.
Hoflinger continues, “I’ve got five ounces of liquor in my system right now, and at the end of the hour I’m only going to burn off an ounce…so I’m going to have [four] ounces left in my bloodstream.”
Of course, there are different factors—such as body mass, hormones, medications, etc.—that affect someone’s rate of absorption. And yes, we might be able to form a functional tolerance where behaviorally, we show no signs of intoxication. However, even with all these variables, for the most part all bodies are affected by alcohol similarly. In other words, your blood alcohol level will be more or less the same, and the risks will remain even if you don’t “feel drunk.”
Hoeflinger continues, saying “the party’s rockin’, so we’re gonna have some more,” while taking three more shots and reminding viewers that he still has only burned off one ounce of liquor during the hour that’s passed.
Now he’s had a total of eight ounces of alcohol in two hours. He’s burned off two, but still has six ounces left in his system—meaning that in this scenario, it will take another six hours to completely burn off.
In hour three, Hoefligner takes one shot since the party is “winding down.” This brings him up to a total of nine ounces of alcohol over three hours. His liver has metabolized three ounces, leaving him (still) with six ounces of liquor left in his bloodstream.
“You’re going to be drunk well into the wee hours of the morning, it doesn’t wear off,” he warns, noting the common misconception people have that “they stop drinking an hour or two and can hop in the car and drive.” But in reality, “you can’t do that as you’re still drunk five, six hours down,” he explains.
Dr. Hoeflinger concludes his video by saying:
“For this holiday season the whole point is I really want to tell people that’s how alcohol can stack up in your system easily when you’re drunk and you won’t know it and it won’t wear off for hours and hours down the road.” This is followed by an urge for people to take an Uber or Lyft home to avoid potentially taking their own or another’s life.
The informative clip, which has been viewed over 13 million times, received a flood of praise from viewers online, especially from parents with kids of a drinking age.
“This is the first time I have ever had anyone explain this in this way. I am forwarding this to my son,” wrote one parent.
It also resonated among designated drivers. One person commented “thank you for caring and educating. I’m the sober ride. I’ve seen the devastation from drinking and driving.”
The topic hits Dr. Hoeflinger on a personal level as well. In a previous video, he shared that he lost his 18-year old son, who died nearly a decade ago from drunk driving. Coming from a medical professional, the plea to not drink and drive is important to hear. But as a parent, it hits different. As he shared in the clip, “losing somebody you love is one of the worst experiences you can have in your life.”
Though Hoeflinger focused on the effect of liquor in his party example, the principle applies to wine and beer as well. Healthline recommends only having one large glass of wine every three hours, and one pint of beer every two hours.
It also gives some best practices to avoid intoxication, including:
Eat at least 1 hour before drinking.
Sip your drinks slowly.
Avoid shots, which you’re likely to down rather than sip.
Don’t drink more than one standard drink per hour.
Alternate between alcohol and nonalcoholic drinks, preferably water.
Limit or avoid carbonated drinks, like champagne, sparkling wine, and cocktails mixed with soda.
Sit down when drinking, since doing it while standing tends to make people drink faster.
And of course, don’t be afraid to get another ride home. For New Year’s Eve (and beyond), feel free to kick back and have fun. But let’s look out for one another by doing it safely.
But perhaps the most silly-yet-surprisingly-heated household debate is the one in which we argue over which way to hang the toilet paper roll.
The “over or under” question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a “correct” way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.
First, let’s be clear about what we’re even talking about here with a visual. In the image below, left is “over” and right is “under.”
So which one is the right way? According to health experts, “over” is the way to go.
“One key to maintaining a hygienic washroom is minimising contact between people and surfaces,” Dr. Christian Moro, associate professor of health sciences and medicine at Bond University on Australia’s Gold Coast, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Depending on the type of roll holder, [hanging the toilet paper “over”] often lowers the chance that a user will touch the wall behind when fishing for paper, leaving germs behind on that surface which can be spread to the next user.”
Picture it: Grabbing the end of the toilet paper when it’s hung “over” means you only touch the part of the toilet paper you’re going to use. When it’s “under,” you sometimes have to fish for it or scrape your fingers on the wall in order to grab the loose end. In addition to whatever might be on people’s hands already, think about all the people who wipe twice, potentially transferring fresh fecal matter or other bacteria to the wall on the second pass, which then get picked up by other people who inadvertently touch that wall when trying to grab their TP.
And touching any surface in a bathroom is pretty nasty, according to a study from the University of Colorado. As Inc. reported: “Using a high-tech genetic sequencing tool, researchers identified 19 groups of bacteria on the doors, floors, faucet handles, soap dispensers, and toilets of 12 public restrooms in Colorado — six men’s restrooms and six women’s restrooms. Many of the bacteria strains identified could be transmitted by touching contaminated surfaces.”
Bacteria means things like e.coli, which is a common source of food poisoning and one of the most common bacteria found on bathroom surfaces in the study. If you’ve ever had a bout of food poisoning, I’m sure you’ll agree that a toilet paper roll hanging preference isn’t worth risking it.
But sanitary health concerns aren’t the only argument for the “over” camp. After all, the original patent for the toilet paper roll, issued in 1891, clearly shows the TP in the “over” position. Thank you for the clarity right from the get go, Mr. Wheeler.
Now, before the “under” folks come running with their pitchforks, there are some understandable exceptions to the “over” rule. Namely: cats and kids.
If you have a furry friend or a tiny toddler who likes to unroll the toilet paper roll, “over” makes it super fun for them, while “under” stops them in their tracks. For many people, cats and kids are the primary motivator of their TP hanging habits.
That doesn’t change the fact that “over” is actually the “correct” way to hang toilet paper according to health science and the inventor’s intention, of course, but “under” is certainly preferable to having a pile of TP on the floor.
Now go forth, do that with information as you will, and try to make peace with your over vs. under rivals.
There isn’t a single person past the age of infancy who has never made a mistake, and the majority of people do something that they’re not proud of at least once in their lives. While some mistakes are bigger than others, they’re all moments we’d rather keep to ourselves most of the time. For some people those mistakes are poor decisions or lapses in judgment that land them behind bars.
One man found himself facing a judge for sentencing after making poor choices. Arthur Booth had the entire internet weeping after a video of him went viral when the sentencing judge in court recognized him as one of her childhood friends. When Booth recognized the judge, he began to openly sob with embarrassment. He was ultimately sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to a drug rehabilitation center.
People wondered what happened after that fateful day in court, and a couple of years later a short update came, showing him reuniting with the judge after finishing his sentence and rehab. But that was years ago, where is he now?
Turns out, Booth is doing quite well. Rebel HQ uploaded a video showing what the once struggling man was up to, and the update couldn’t be any sweeter. On the day the judge reunited with her former classmate outside of the courtroom, she reminded him, “You’ve got to take care of your family, try to get a job, stay clean. You’re going to do something good for somebody else, that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Booth took her words to heart, making good on his promise and exceeding the expectation to succeed. The once embattled man has stayed away from the things that had cost him his freedom–drugs and gambling. In fact, he travels the country as a manager of a successful pharmaceutical company based in Florida, according to Rebel HQ. The man owns his own home and continues to keep in contact with the childhood friend and judge who gave him the words he needed to hear at the right time.
Robbie Pierce, his husband, Neal Broverman and their two young children were traveling on an Amtrak train in California in 2022 when they were harassed by a fellow passenger at a stop in San Jose.
Broverman is the editorial director for print media at Pride, The Advocate’s parent company,
“All of a sudden, there was a man standing there next to me,” Pierce told The Advocate. The man told their son, “Remember what I told you earlier. They stole you and they’re pedophiles,” Pierce recounts. The man also said that gay people are abominations.
The police were called and the man was thrown off the train, but the incident was a frightening reminder that gay families could be the target of bigots, even in liberal Northern California. “It’s a new level of homophobia out there,” Pierce added.
Seven months later, Pierce’s son was the victim of harassment, this time from a child at a park. “A random unattended 7-year-old at the park told me and my son that gay people are the devil,” he recounted in a viral X thread. “My son scoffed, but the boy said it was true because God said so.”
Pierce reacted to the boy’s hatred — which he probably learned at home — with his own lesson. “I told him parents made up God to make their Kids do what they want. His eyes got so big,” he wrote on X.
A random unattended 7yo at the park told me and my son that gay people are the devil and are going to hell. My son scoffed, but the boy said it was true because God said so. I told him parents made up God to make their kids do what they want. His eyes got so big.
Addressing complex issues like religion and sexuality with a young child, who’s a stranger, is a tricky needle to thread, so Pierce admits he had some reservations about his response. But he stands by his decision.
“I’m sorry but if you teach your kids to hate I’m going to teach them to disobey you,” he wrote on X.
I’m sorry but if you teach your kids to hate I’m going to teach them to disobey you.
As someone who has been harassed by religious, homophobic people in the past, Pierce took the opportunity to help steer a young child away from hatred. At the age of 7, most children believe whatever their parents tell them. However, Pierce planted a seed in the child’s mind that may one day encourage him to challenge his indoctrination when he gets older.
The vast majority of commenters on X agreed with Pierce’s response to the child’s comment.
But what Robbie said wasn’t exactly wrong? And if you’re going to hell anyway, why not say it lol.
Children do not belong to their parents. He is his own person, and so are you. He interacted with a stranger, and you weren’t mean to him, you just showed him that there’s more to the world than what his parents tell him.
That was quite wrong of you to do to a kid. You had a chance to enlighten a child. You could have told him that gay people are just like everyone else and should be respected. Instead you threw his mind into darkness and chaos. You made a bad situation worse.
I’ll take: you are telling the truth and you took the time to own a seven year old kid to make yourself feel better. Very big of you. Or. You are making things up again. Either way, probably not something to hold as a moment of righteousness. Be better.
No matter how one feels about Pierce’s reaction, what’s clear is that there is something very inappropriate about a 7-year-old child openly harassing LGBTQ families. The unfortunate problem is that this type of hyper-religious upbringing can cause lasting emotional and psychological trauma to a child. And it’s a common problem. A recent study in the growing field of religious trauma found that 1 in 3 Americans suffer from trauma related to religion at some point in their life.
While we might be quick to dismiss the child’s behavior as innocent or simply as a symptom of growing up in a religious household, the more we learn about religious trauma, the more these children appear to be the victims of abuse.
This week’s finale of House of the Dragon ends much the same way it’s second season began, with both sides preparing for war but neither ready to fight in one. And sure, we thought we’d see more battles (on the ground and in the sky) by now, that a few more Targaryens might die and at least one city might be sacked, but the lack of forward momentum when it comes to armies and armadas, blockades and dragons doesn’t extend to the characters on this show.
If season two (and its finale) proved anything, it’s that the interpersonal drama and political alliances are what’s fueling the action on this show. That’s why this episode’s most impactful scene materialized as a quiet moment between two queens willing to make sacrifices in the name of peace and maybe their friendship. It’s why a character’s redemption arc was cemented with a story, not a sword. And it’s why both nothing, and everything, happened, setting up a season three that promises to move more swiftly to its inevitably bloody end.
In the meantime, here’s where everyone stands on the HoTD leaderboard after the show’s season two finale.
Rhaenyra Targaryen
HBO
House of the Dragon is doing some truly interesting things when it comes to Westeros’ true heir. Rhaenyra began this season broken by grief, craving revenge and then shrinking from the bloody fallout of its execution. Her political instincts where muffled, her war strategy nonexistent, and her belief in her own ability to rule seriously cast into doubt. It’s amazing what a season-long break from your over-bearing, war-mongering spouse and a situationship with real baddie can do for one’s self esteem.
Sure, the show’s season finale proved Rhaenyra’s still got some things to figure out – there’s the whole chopping off her brother’s head thing, the uneasy alliance with her biggest frenemy, the atrocious table manners of her extended family members, and the delicate negotiation of a potential throuple with her uncle-husband and his former mistress – but she’s got the firepower now to do it. Unlike Alicent, Rhaenyra has found a way to upend the patriarchal systems put in place to hinder her pursuit of power by aligning herself with those who’ve also suffered under its rule. She’s eschewed tradition and evolved past inherited biases to challenge an archaic hierarchy, to create a space for herself instead of letting others dictate her role for her. In other words, the DNA tests are in. Rhaenyra Targaryen really is 100% that b*tch.
Daemon Targaryen
HBO
We’re as surprised as you are that, after weeks of wandering the haunted courtyards of Harrenhal, barking at the moon, and dream-f*cking his mother, Daemon has risen this high in the House of the Dragon power rankings. But the silver-haired scoundrel really came through this episode, first scoffing at the suggestion he should be king by one of Rhaenyra’s turn cloak advisors, then bending the knee to his estranged wife in front of a host of Riverlords whose respect he’s barely even earned himself.
It helped that Alys was there to guide him on the path fate had already determined, forcing him to fondle a bleeding weirwood tree in order to finally realize the futility of his own existence. (Sidenote: The phrase “go touch grass” is now out. When a man is getting too opinionated, we now say, “go grope a weirwood.”) Daemon not only saw his own watery grave, but the destruction of his house, the threat of the White Walkers, and a glimpse of the Prince Who Was Promised – Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons. That kind of prophetic epiphany will straighten a treasonous adulterer out real quick. But, the most important development in Daemon’s redemption arc is that his poor dragon is getting treated to pork and a one-way ticket out of this hell hole. Praise be, Caraxes’ long nightmare is finally over.
Alicent Hightower
HBO
We’d like to strongly suggest Alicent Hightower add Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon” to her Spotify playlist and play that joint on repeat during the show’s hiatus because girl, that song is about you. The Dowager Queen’s short wilderness retreat left her refreshed and ready to hand over her sons’ heads on a silver platter in exchange for her freedom and the safety of her favorite child. Or maybe Alicent woke up one day and realized she’s in her mid-30s and she doesn’t have nearly enough stamps on her passport. Sometimes a b*tch just wants to quit her job and travel the world. Who really knows. But Alicent makes some tough choices this episode, ones that are brought on after her son commits mass murder and then recruits Helaena to do the same. Her confession to Rhaenyra was heartbreaking on multiple levels.
It’s clear the two still hold deep love for one another, but the ways in which their paths have diverged have created a chasm no bridge could ever cross. Alicent is just now realizing how the internalized misogyny that’s governed her life has actually destroyed any hope of happiness for herself, or her children. She’s reflecting on all of the harm she’s caused and the reason for it – the jealousy of Rhaenyra, a woman who was sure of her wants in life, the dysfunction of her marriage, the controlling nature of her father, and the way abstract concepts like “duty” and “honor” are thrust upon women like shackles to keep them subservient and silent. It’s all a little too late, of course. War is inevitable and her betrayal will bring shame to her house and all of her children will still die terrible deaths in the end, but that kind of self-actualization takes years of therapy for most people so at least she’s saved a fortune in co-pays.
Larys Strong
HBO
Old club foot finally reveals his hand this episode, hobbling to Aegon’s sickbed to tell the disfigured monarch he’s got some gold stashed away in Essos. As long as the burnt slice of Wonder bread can stomach living with some goats, they can avoid the more fiery bits of this civil war, wait out the coming storm, and return to unseat the victor when the time is right. It’s a well enough plan, and Larys is stronger than us to see it through. If it’s between spending a whole season of playing nursemaid to a manchild who constantly pees on himself and burning to death in dragon fire, we’ll take the latter.
Aegon Targaryen
HBO
On the one hand, Aegon is ruining his mother’s filicidal vacation plans. On the other, we got to hear him complain about his ugly mug and crippled body and incontinence problem. We were even treated to the very visceral description of his prick exploding like “a sausage on a spit” at one point so, yeah, maybe all those fears of AI taking writers’ jobs are a bit overblown because Google could never.
Helaena Targaryen
HBO
One of the best choices made by the showrunners this season is the decision to highlight just how powerful Helaena Targaryen is in this dance of dragons. Her advantage doesn’t lie on dragon back, but in dreams, something the show plays with in the finale by connecting her to Daemon whilst he’s in the middle of a life-altering vision. Helaena has seen this story before, perhaps when she was still a child. She knows Aemond tried to kill their brother, she knows Aegon will escape death again to become king, she knows of the battle at the God’s Eye and the coming winter and the legacy her house will leave behind. But, unlike a character like Bran Stark, her insight is ignored, belittled as the ramblings of a mad woman. Maybe that’s because of her sex, or maybe it’s because her prophecies aren’t packaged in a way the people around her care to figure out, but if anything has been made clear this season, it’s that more people should pay attention to the gentlest Targaryen. Except you, Aemond. You can get a job and stay away from her.
Tyland Lannister
HBO
Tyland got his hands dirty this week, both literally and figuratively, rolling around in the mud with the kind of riff-raff he’d probably turn his nose at were he back in King’s Landing. Luckily for him, a tall white guy with a beard and a habit of making a fool of himself amused the pirate lords he was sent to treat with and he ends the season in the most unlikeliest of places – aboard a ship, an armada in tow, and with several women wanting to sleep with him.
Corlys Velaryon
HBO
Just as we’re starting to feel sympathy for the Lord of the Tides, wiping our eyes as he reveals the name of his new vessel and gives some worthwhile advice to his former daughter-in-law, Corlys has to go and f*ck things up by reminding us what a piece-of-sh*t father he’s been. It’s bad enough he plays dumb when his queen presses him for information on his bastard son, but Corlys took his behavior to a new level of ick when he offered to help Alyn rise above his station. He’s a grown man who survived on fish guts and seaweed for decades before you took notice of him, my man, your desperation for an heir is really starting to show.
Aemond Targaryen
HBO
Aemond Targaryen as a character is a laughable villain, an overgrown toddler throwing a temper tantrum by way of tyranny and scorched earth. But Aemond Targaryen as a hypothetical model, a what if scenario that questions how the world might look if fragile masculinity came equipped with a mythic fire-breathing beast that could lay waste to entire civilizations at the first hint of a hurt feeling is absolutely nightmarish. We hate to generalize here, but maybe no man should be in a possession of a dragon from now on.
Rhaena Targaryen
HBO
Starving, freezing, dehydrated, and delirious. We’ll never forgive the HoTD writers for putting Rhaena through all of this just to claim a dragon when all Ulf had to do was step on some eggs and make Silverwing laugh.
Otto Hightower
Otto HOTD Finale
This week in, “Where In The World Is Otto Hightower?” we visit a dim-lit and dirty prison cell where the former Hand of the King has been stripped of his dignity (and facial hair) and made friends with the rats. Who did this to him? Our money’s on Larys Strong.
Criston Cole
HBO
The bad news: We only got one episode of respite before Criston Cole popped up on our screens once more to moan about the cost of war and the nonexistence of honor and how he’s helpless against the wiles of teenage girls. The good news: the show’s former “Character We All Love To Hate” title holder is hella depressed and practically salivating at the thought of that sweet, eternal reprieve. Godspeed to you, ser.
Ulf
HBO
That brings us to the show’s newly-crowned “Character We All Love To Hate,” Ulf, a man so unremarkable his mother could only string three letters together in place of a name. Coincidentally, “ulf” is also the sound everyone makes whenever this guy’s face shows up on screen. We know this whole civil war business is really just a number’s game, but couldn’t the Blacks stand to lose just one dragon rider?
‘House of the Dragon’s second season can be streamed on Max.
Taylor Sheridan isn’t content to create, write, and helm a mere handful of shows for Paramount. Several more are incoming, including the apparently revamped series that was meant to star Matthew McConaughey. Also, Yellowstone will conclude its rodeo this fall (without Kevin Costner), and Tulsa King will return for a second season led by Sly Stallone and featuring Frank Grillo, who I cannot believe is only now entering the Sheridan universe.
Then there would be Landman, a Texas-set story about those oil-industry roughnecks and businessmen who maneuver around them. This series will premiere relatively soon (compared to, say, 6666) with filming taking place this past spring and post-production currently ongoing. Let’s talk about what we can expect, starting with a gathering of star power.
Cast
Sheridan might have assembled his most impressive gathering of stars yet for this series. Landman shall be led by Billy Bob Thornton, who also appeared in 1883, so perhaps he will one day be considered Sheridan’s muse. I’m only half-joking on that front, but we will see how this show is received and whether it receives future seasons. Thornton, of course, has portrayed both straightforward and more morally complex, nuanced characters, but here, he is a unique beast: Tommy Norris, a wheeling and dealing oil company crisis manager.
We will also see Tommy’s private life, which includes an ex-wife (Ali Larter, and you can catch a glimpse of them together over at Vanity Fair). They share two twenty-something children (Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland), one of whom will be getting grubby in the oil fields. Meanwhile, Jon Hamm will portray oil-industry titan Monty Miller (an apparently friendly associate to Tommy), who is married to Cami, portrayed by Demi Moore. The cast further includes Michael Peña as Armando Medina, “a veteran roughneck.”
Additionally, Andy Garcia, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, and James Jordan are onboard, and the series, which filmed in Texas including the Fort Worth area, pulled extras from the local community to portray TCU college athletes and experienced oil-field workers.
Plot
Interestingly enough, this show takes place a world apart from the gangster-focused Tulsa King, which is set in the former “oil capital of the world,” and heads down to Texas, where Sheridan owns numerous properties. As always with his series, he will zero in on a facet of the American experience, and as Jon Hamm has revealed, Landman stands apart from other Sheridan shows to focus upon “oil speculators and what they called landmen, which are the guys that run around and try to acquire mineral rights and land rights in the hope of speculating and finding oil.”
The show will take a behind-the-curtain glimpse not only of the billionaires leading the industry but also the unforgiving terrain of the oil fields. As Thornton recently told Vanity Fair, those scrubland scenes were “probably the hardest thing I ever did.” The Bad Santa and Sling Blade star revealed how the brutal heat led him and the crew to nearly pass out:
“It was so hot some days, and we’re shooting out at these oil pumpjacks. Do you know what caliche is?’ That’s the cement-like powdery soil that blankets the landscape. ‘We’re on these caliche roads with the rocks in ’em and stuff, and I’m wearing cowboy boots, and there are scenes where I have to run to the truck. It’s a hundred degrees with a hundred percent humidity. Jesus Christ … This just sucks.”
Demi Moore, however, seems to have had a more pleasant experience, and she discussed how the show highlights the women who also pull strings in the oil industry: “He writes incredible, complex, dynamic and delicious women who are powerful, vulnerable, flawed,” Moore says. Look for Moore’s Cami to be as much of a force as her Hamm-portrayed husband, Monty Miller.
“Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”
Release Date
Landman will debut on November 17 on Paramount+.
Trailer
No teaser trailer exists yet, surprisingly enough, although that should happen any day now. In the meantime, here’s Sheridan talking (at the 2:20 mark below) about writing the show specifically for Billy Bob.
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.
Based upon Holly Jackson’s 2019 novel, this series follows protagonist Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Meyers), a high-school student who works to solve a five-year-old murder of a fellow teenager in her English town. This involves exonerating the also-dead accused murderer to find the real killer. Reader feedback from the series points towards tons of changes from page to TV screen, and if the cumulative streaming numbers reflect that disappointment, then the other three books in Jackson’s series likely won’t become additional seasons. At this point, however, the jury remains out.
This final, super-sized season, which is only getting started, continues to crush the generation gap while keeping things real for the underdogs. This spin off has also accomplished what few TV shows or movies could have ever hoped for: successfully rebooting a 1980s property while appealing to Gen Z and the original The Karate Kid audience. This season, fans of Chozen and Tory will be happy to see deeper dives into their psyches, and Daniel and Johnny are still occasionally at each other’s throats while now training their joint dojo members to travel to the Sekai Taikai world championship and dominate outside of the Valley.
8. Deadpool, Deadpool 2 (20th Century Fox movies steaming on Disney+)
By breaking too many box-office records to count in a week (the film is already passed $550 million worldwide), the Merc With The Mouth has done what the MCU couldn’t do on its own. Of course, he had plenty of help from his best frenemy, James “Logan” Howlett, and an extensive list of [Fill In The Blank]pool cameos. The first films (along with the less well-received Once Upon A Deadpool) remain available for those who need a refresher before reaching into that Wolverine-themed popcorn bucket.
This slow-burning mystery (and to be fair, the book is that way, too) is slowly rolling out each week to follow Natalie Portman’s former 1960s housewife who determined to strike out on her own. Sadly, this happens at the expense of other people’s privacy, but that’s only one angle to be gleaned from the subject matter. This story, of course, is based upon Laura Lippman’s bestselling novel that is part of her collection of Baltimore-focused books with spooky sights and sounds to offer, which makes things a little more mystical-feeling than the book. Viewers will need to tune in to find out if Lippman’s twist materializes onscreen or if the show will go a different way.
Feel like a little pandemic escapism? Oddly enough, you would not be alone. The Black Death serves as the 1300s backdrop for this Netflix version of the oft-adapted work from Giovanni Boccaccio. The tone of the series is darkly comedic and heads not only into tales of survival but also class systems and power struggles. The ensemble cast is a trip and includes Zosia Mamet, Tony Hale, Amar Chadha-Patel, Lou Gala, Karan Gill, Tony Hale, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Douggie McMeekin, Jessica Plummer, and Tanya Reynolds.
It’s a big year for Gladiators this year with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 on the way, and this show also takes aim at “bread and circuses” and the “entertainment underbelly” of Ancient Rome. The subject matter is, at least loosely, based in fact, but adapting the real-life Flavian dynasty has somehow led to Anthony Hopkins and togas and the Flavian sons battling it out over who will succeed dad. Even more togas and sandals and gratuitous violence will materialize, so you have been warned.
Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement are making it weird again, as they do. Goodness, another book adaptation? Yes, we cannot get away from them. Here, the Terry Gilliam book takes TV series form after the 1980s cult-classic film, and Lisa Kudrow is leading ragtag thieves through time and space to save some lives but, apparently, must also save the entire human species.
Apple TV+ is doing it here, as well, with its most popular drama to date, which is also a book adaptation and will receive a second season with “a new mystery,” meaning the anthology route. Jake Gyllenhaal threw on a suit to portray troubled prosecutor Rusty Sabich — who stands trial following the murder of his lover/colleague — in this adaptation of the Scott Turow novel. Thus far, several possibilities exist for the second season’s story, which could potentially be based upon another Turow book. Heck, David E. Kelley and Turow could decide together that this series should switch to a brand new original story, but we do know that Gyllenhaal is executive producing, and perhaps we will even see Rusty return onscreen if the followup novel, Innocent (which involves a time jump), is adapted in a later season.
With Dexter: Original Sin filming and Dexter: Resurrection announced, there has never been a better time to indulge (whether it’s an initial exposure or a rewatch) in eight seasons of this serial-killer series starring Michael C. Hall. In other words, there’s still time to learn his Code and what’s going on with his Dark Passenger (with a ninth Dexter: New Blood season, too) before the new followup show arrives. Like Suits, The Walking Dead, and so many more long-lived series, we are living in a wonderful time where DVD purchases and rentals are not required to enjoy crowd-pleasing hits of yesteryear.
1. House of the Dragon (HBO series streaming on Max)
After last week’s penultimate episode events, fans are now left wondering whether Aemond will still steer clear of Dragonstone after learning of Rhaenyra’s growing collection of riders. He’s now essentially alone with Vhagar unless he can convince Helaena to join him at Harrenhal, which makes it look extra dumb for him to have acted so impulsively to take Aegon out of the running for Team Green. The prince regent will likely continue f*cking up, but the season finale will tell that tale. See you then.
Cody Rhodes used some help from Roman Reigns and retained his WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa on Saturday night at SummerSlam from the Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland.
Sikoa made his way to the ring before it was time for the champ to make the long walk from his bus to the squared circle. Rhodes hopped off the bus with his dog, Pharaoh, before he was greeted by Arn Anderson. Rhodes handed off Pharaoh, put on the American Nightmare jacket and a mask before making his way to the stage.
Sikoa immediately went on the attack with Rhodes, setting up for a Samoan Spike before the champ reversed into a Cody Cutter. Sikoa began to turn the tide again, setting up for a Cross Rhodes before Rhodes reversed into the finisher of his own. Before he could get the pinfall, Tango Loa and Tama Tonga made the save.
Kevin Owens and Randy Orton came down to back Rhodes, beating Loa and Tonga out of the ring. Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes for two before Owens and Orton fought off Loa and Tonga around the outside.
Rhodes grabbed the stairs, hit Sikoa twice, then was speared while holding the stairs for a two count. Sikoa went for the hip attack with Rhodes placed near the stairs. Rhodes moved, then hit two Cross Rhodes before Jacob Fatu hit the ring and attacked Rhodes. Fatu connected on a moonsault for Sikoa’s two count before tossing Rhodes to the outside.
Fatu tossed Rhodes on the announce table, making his way to the top rope before connecting on a splash through the table. Sikoa threw Rhodes into the ring, hit a splash from the top rope and only got the two count. Sikoa set up for the Samoan Spike, but Rhodes dropped to his knees. Rhodes popped up and found his way into a Cody Cutter.
With both opponents laid out, Roman Reigns’ music hit and the former world champ made his way to the ring wearing an OTC shirt. Reigns hit the ring, landed a Superman Punch on Sikoa and dropped him with a spear before staring down Rhodes and exiting the ring.
Rhodes took advantage, grabbing Sikoa, hitting Cross Rhodes and retaining the belt.
There are few things WWE loves more than getting celebrities involved in the ring. Some are better than others (some, like Logan Paul, just become regular parts of the roster), but a lot of making a celebrity look good in the ring comes down to the guy selling for them.
On Saturday night in Cleveland, we got an all-time entry in the art of selling for someone who has no idea what they’re doing in the ring from Austin Theory. The ever-obnoxious Theory came out with Grayson Waller while The Miz and R-Truth were hyping up the Cleveland crowd for a new attendance record, and did the typical heel work of bashing the home city, mocking sports teams and celebrities in the crowd. One of those was Jelly Roll, who left his seat and popped up in the ring with a chair and hit both with perfectly adequate chair shots.
That would normally be the end of a celeb segment, but Jelly Roll wasn’t done just yet, as he grabbed Austin Theory by the throat and proceeded to hit Theory with one of the biggest chokeslams you’ll see in any ring — celeb or not.
This is truly unbelievable work by Theory who effectively hits this chokeslam by himself because, while I’m sure Jelly Roll is pretty strong, he is not “pick a man up 4 feet over his head” strong. Theory has always been elite at the art of selling things in cartoonish fashion, and there is nothing you want more in a spot with a celebrity than that guy. I’m not sure what Theory’s future holds as a potential champion, but if nothing else, he can make a lot of money for a long time in WWE simply by being the guy willing to take crazy bumps from various celebrity guests.
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