Year: 2024

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are in the middle of an ownership controversy. The long and the short of it is that longtime owner Glen Taylor agreed to a deal to sell the team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez over the span of several years, but when it came time to get the portion of the deal that would let them take majority control of the team over the line, Taylor kept control of the team after he claimed that Lore and Rodriguez did not hold up their end of the bargain, which the pair strenuously denied.

All of this happened amid the Timberwolves going on a run to the Western Conference Finals, and now, Lore and Rodriguez’s group owns around 40 percent of the team. And according to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic, they’re attempting to bring some more financial might to their ownership group, as businessman and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is the latest individual with big money to join.

While Bloomberg is a big name and a considerable financial partner, he is in for only a portion of that $300 million. The rest comes from the existing group Lore and Rodriguez have assembled, which includes themselves, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and others. Lore and Rodriguez will continue to lead their group and serve as the final decision-makers should they get control of the team, the same sources said. If they do win in arbitration, they would still have to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors before officially joining the league’s majority ownership ranks.

That $300 million would allow the ownership group to buy out Taylor immediately. But for now, the two sides are headed to arbitration to see if Lore and A-Rod’s group did everything by the book in their efforts to take majority control of the team earlier this year.

A full college term has passed since STARZ, 50 Cent, and Courtney A. Kemp’s Power Book II: Ghost series debuted as the first spin-off of the original Power series. So, it’s only fitting that Power Book II: Ghost, a series that follows Tariq St. Patrick and his double-life as a college student and drug dealer, comes to an end after four seasons. The upcoming season will premiere on June 7, 2024, the tenth anniversary of the premiere of Power, which begins a fitting end for the spin-off that added to everything we thought Power could be and helped to establish the Power Universe.

Power fans might not have been able to imagine the Power Universe as it is today. Yet, for the past four years, viewers have saw it expand in three different directions kickstarted by James “Ghost” St. Patrick’s death in the Power series finale. The Power Universe allowed characters who otherwise been outside of the spotlight, to have their own storylines at the forefront of their respective series. Michael Rainey Jr., who plays the role of Tariq St. Patrick, is a prime example of that. He went from having a recurring role on the original Power series to playing a key role on the show in its final seasons to being the star of a show centered around him with Power Book II: Ghost.

“Man, my first season on Power, I ain’t have no type of nothing,” Rainey Jr. told UPROXX with a laugh. “I was just there like, ‘Whatever y’all need me to say, I’ll say it, whatever y’all need me to do, I’m gonna do it.’” With time, Rainey grew out of this happy-to-be-here approach and into a hands-on actor who saw past the words on a script. “Now, it’s like – obviously the character of Tariq is solidified – but how can I make him a little more solidified? More believable? More relatable?” he says of his first season on Ghost.

That first season of Ghost was key in making sure the Power Universe could set sail into the dynamic future it teased to its loyal fans. It started with a shift in focus and demographic – Power aimed at a demographic north of 25 with Ghost, Tasha, and Tommy as its leads while Ghost went south of 25 with Tariq and Brayden (played by Gianni Paolo) at the helm. Rainey Jr. (23) and Paolo (28) both used their youth to their advantage in perfecting their characters with the hopes of making them, as Rainey said, more relatable and believable on screen.

“The writers let me have a lot of fun with Brayden, whether it was to pitch my own jokes or make certain scenes more fun when things were darker in the Universe,” Paolo recalled to us of his last couple of years on Power before the launch of Ghost. “They really let me run free and I’m so thankful they did because I don’t think I would be in Book II if they hadn’t.” Rainey echoed a similar sentiment in regards to the start of Ghost, saying, “The writers definitely helped me with that as well. It was just like I’m gonna come in and do things a little bit different, step out of my comfort zone, [and] do things that I wasn’t doing in Power.”

Though the focus of Rainey and Paolo’s roles changed between Power and Ghost, Shane Johnson’s role remained more or less the same between both series. In both, Johnson played Cooper Saxe, the antagonist viewers loved to hate as he was fueled by the desire to dismantle the St. Patrick & associates’ empire, whether it was Ghost and Tommy at the top or Tariq and Brayden. Still, the feel between Power and Ghost was clear to Johnson. “There was such an incredible magic to Power the original series,” he recalled. “With Power, we were all in the same boat as actors, writers, and crew. We felt like we were creating something special, but we had no idea how big it would become. For Ghost, it was a very different experience and one that was just as special. Of course, one of the big differences is that we were already a known entity and we knew we’d carry over some of that former audience.”

Among that former audience were actors Woody McClain, LaToya Tonodeo, and Lovell Adams-Gray who joined the Power Universe through their roles on Ghost. The trio all held Power to high regard as fans and jumped at the chance to be involved in a spin-off of the shows. “I loved Power!” Adams-Gray, who plays Dru Tejada in Ghost, said before citing the influence of actor Omari Hardwick’s role as James “Ghost” St. Patrick’s on him. “I think Omari Hardwick validated me and my instincts as an actor. He made such unique and nuanced choices that really impacted me.” For Tonodeo, her appreciation for Power ran deeper. “I’m a big fan of the Power Universe and was definitely a fan of the OG Power series to the point where I had “Starz” (Power) on my Vision Board while the show was still airing,” she recalled. “Now that I’m apart of it, it’s even more special because I get to be apart of something that I know will forever be part of the culture.”

“Witnessing a character like Ghost, a business owner who runs a nightclub and isn’t afraid to delve into the gritty side of life to support his family, was truly groundbreaking,” McClain says about Power. “I never imagined that the producers could surpass that, but they proved me wrong. Not only did they craft a successful spin-off, but they also built an entire captivating universe.” The universe as of now, spawned three out of four previously announced spin-offs: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force. When compared to Power, Ghost is flashier, sleeker, and more modern — primed for the younger audience it aims for. Kanan evokes a bit of nostalgia and familiarity in its series -– you may not know the characters at its start, but the time period, aesthetic, and way of life is recognizeable and not too far removed from Power. Set in the 1990s, it captures the drug world that Ghost would later be deeply entwined in. Force opts for a colder (both literally and figuratively) feel in a completely different world where shivers are brought forth by both the brisk winds of Chicago, where the show’s lead Tommy Egan relocated to, and the gruesome drug world that a beloved Sons Of Anarchy actor couldn’t even survive. There’s something for everyone to pick and there’s an enough room to fall in love with all that’s offered.

The reasons for the last success of Power and Ghost are endless. McClain credits the “talented writers’ room” that continuously kept “viewers on the edge of their seats” as well as the “marketing genius” of 50 Cent. Tonodeo cites the “storylines, constant conflict between the Tejadas and Tariq, and the cultural impact” while Adams-Gray believes that the “electrifying and relatable” stakes as well the “conviction and authenticity” the actors put in their roles are to blame. Paolo also gave credit to the narratives in both Power and Ghost saying, “There are so many different story lines, twists and turns, and jaw dropping moments and I think that’s what keeps people wanting more and more every week.” As for Rainey, well, it cuts a bit deeper than that.

“The feeling of elegance, the feeling of greediness, that feeling of just being able to relate to certain characters in the story,” he says. “It’s the small nuances that bring people back to watch the show, just the little things like we’ve never seen a character on TV rockin’ Alexander McQueen while they over here going to go kill somebody. Stuff like is just different and I feel like people get tied into that.”

Much of that will be present in season four of Ghost which carries a tagline of “Like Father, Like Son,” alluding to a shift in character for Tariq St. Patrick. Rainey admits that Tariq “coming to terms” with the similarities between him and his father made the role “a little more fun” for him. “Now he’s doing a lot more ruthless stuff,” Rainey reveals. “He’s on the offensive, like he said, he wants to be an apex predator this year. He’s just in a different type of mindset. He’s not waiting for people to come get him so he can defend himself, he’s ready to get people.” It lines up to be a fitting self-acceptance moment for Tariq as Ghost will conclude the series after the second half of the season airs this fall. With it being the final season, Tariq has one wish for his audience. “I want them to watch this season and be like, ‘Okay, this season was good enough for it to be the last season,” he says. “I think that’s going to be the case and I’m ready to see the outcome of everything.”

Regardless of what happens in season four, the legacy of both Power and Ghost are cemented in TV history forever. “We captured lightening in a bottle so many times, that we started selling different flavors of lightening,” Johnson says of the former. For both series, Rainey notes that they and the Power Universe as a whole brought “something new to TV.” “They were able to make a familiar story new again and that’s not easy,” he adds. “On top of that, they were able to create three, four different spin-offs from one show. For all of them to be successful and people want to watch them, that’s a huge accomplishment because that’s very rare that people want to watch something like a spin-off to something that’s super successful like Power.”

For the next few months, Power fans will have the chance to say goodbye to the decade-long story of Ghost and Tariq St. Patrick. Ghost will conclude with a fourth season made up ten episodes that will surely add to the many memories the series has delivered over the years. Where Tariq and company end up remains to be seen, but Power, Ghost, and the Power Universe, which still lives on, carrying a legacy already set in stone. Ghost played a big role in that in ensuring that Power made it a new generation and that the Power Universe received the validation to be a exciting and thrilling as its creators imagined it to be. For that, Ghost should always be appreciated and with that, we can say goodbye and look forward to what lies ahead in the Power Universe.

‘Power Book II: Ghost’ season four, part one premieres on June 7. Part two debuts on September 6.

It’s not the end for Panem after all! Or at least not if we go back in time a few years.

This week, it was announced that not only will there be another book in the Hunger Games franchise, but that book will also make it to the big screen.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is the upcoming prequel from Suzanne Collins which hits bookshelves on March 18th, 2025. The movie adaptation is aiming for a November 20th, 2026 release date, though that could always be shifted around.

The upcoming installment will tell the story of the Second Quarter Quell, which took place 24 years before Katniss took part in The Hunger Games. The story will follow a young Haymitch Abernathy, who becomes a tribute from District 12. By the time he meets Katniss, Haymitch is a grumpy middle-aged man, but as a tribute, he was described as a quick-thinker who outsmarted the games and eventually wins.

“With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,’” Collins said in a statement. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

The announcement comes just months after the Rachel Zelger-led prequel The Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes hit theaters and became a modest box office hit. The prequel was also based on the novel of the same name, which was released in 2020, and takes place roughly 40 years before the events of Sunrise on the Reaping .

The good news about those fun Hunger Games is that there were over 70 of them, which could in turn become 70 movies. Just a thought!

If tour rehearsals count as a training season, then, yes, “Training Season” is over for Dua Lipa, who performed her first of four Radical Optimism concerts on Wednesday, June 5, in Berlin, Germany. Among the reasons Radical Optimism made it on Uproxx’s “Best Albums Of 2024 So Far” list is because it’s “meant to be danced to — not dissected.” Anyone planning on attending one of Lipa’s upcoming shows can expect to dance to the following songs.

Here Is Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism Tour Setlist

The below setlist is based upon fans’ chronicling on setlist.fm from Lipa’s show at Waldbühne in Berlin, Germany on June 5.

Act 1

1. “Training Season”
2. “One Kiss” (Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa Cover)
3. “Illusion”
4. “Break My Heart”
5. “Levitating”

Act 2

6. “These Walls” (Live Debut)
7. “Be The One”
8. “Love Again”
9. “Pretty Please”

Act 3

10. “Hallucinate”
11. “New Rules” (Dance break with elements of “Glue” by BICEP)
12. “Electricity” (Silk City & Dua Lipa Cover)
13. “Cold Heart” (Elton John Cover)

Act 4

14. “Happy For You”
15. “Physical”
16. “Don’t Start Now”
17. “Houdini”

Dua Lipa’s Upcoming Radical Optimism Dates

Lipa will perform in Pula, Croatia on June 9 before staging back-to-back shows in Nimes, France on June 12 and 13. Then, she’s set to perform at several festivals throughout the summer and fall, including Glastonbury Festival and Austin City Limits, before performing at Royal Albert Hall in London on October 17. She also has several Asian dates planned for late this year. See all of Dua Lipa’s upcoming tour dates here.

Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft is listed among Uproxx’s “Best Albums Of 2024 So Far” list, largely because of the sharp clarity in Eilish’s messages across the 10-track album. That extends to her new “Chihiro” video.

“The video was directed by Billie Eilish, who envisioned a dream-like narrative where the long, dark hallways and shutting of doors symbolize the different corners of the mind,” a press release relayed. “Along with her co-star Nat Wolff, she tumbles into an inescapable connection. The external expression of an internal push and pull, as our deepest feelings of fear, love, or desire inevitably catch up to us, no matter how hard we try to run away.”

In the five-plus-minute video, Eilish wanders around what appears to be an empty high school, with Wolff lurking around the corners. They engage in an intense argument at one point, or that’s how it seems, at least. It might all be in Eilish’s head because Wolff soon vanishes — leaving Eilish alone again. Eventually, Eilish is casually walking outside before looking over her shoulder to see Wolff (or perhaps the illusion of him) running toward her. She tries to run away, but he tackles her and brutally tosses her around in the grass. It’s an uncomfortable watch, which is probably precisely what Eilish intended. Toward the end, Wolff chokes her around the neck, and the screen briefly elicits imagery resembling the Hit Me Hard And Soft album cover artwork. But just as the screen fades to black, Eilish smiles.

“One of my favorite videos I’ve made [and] truly one of the greatest days of my life,” Eilish wrote on Instagram.

The theatrical nature of the “Chihiro” video bodes well for what the staging might be for Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, which begins on September 29. See all of the dates here.

Watch the “Chihiro” video above.

Netflix’s Baby Reindeer hung onto the top of the streaming charts for over a month while people were transfixed by creator, writer, and star Richard Gadd’s confessional adaptation of his personal experience with trauma and being stalked. The experience of watching the show can be triggering, but the package (and gripping performances, especially from Jessica Gunning as Martha and Gadd as Donny) compelled to such a degree that people couldn’t wait to hear what Gadd would create for his next project after taking weird plane rides and seeing his whole life transformed.

That series, Lions, is currently in the works. However, Gadd already completed an acting stint in a short film that will arrive this month for streaming. Let’s have a quick chat about this abbreviated project while acknowledging that even a tiny amount of Gadd content is better than none.

Plot

Oliver Shuster wrote the script that revolves around a housewarming party gone bad, according to the logline: “When ugly truths start to emerge, chaos reigns and threatens the relationships of old friends.” Yup, somebody (Gadd’s Jimi, maybe) dropped a mysterious drug into the mix. Via Variety‘s first-on-the-scene reporting on the project, “Gadd’s character of Jimi is friends with the host couple; he is described as a ‘liability’ whose ‘self-destructive behavior masks deep self-loathing and a secret that’s not ready to come out.’”

Yep, Truth Serum (directed by Vika Evdokimenko) revolves around Gadd’s character, who appears to have few things in common with Donny of Baby Reindeer. That would include a taste for drugs, and in Jimi’s case, he seems more gleefully chaotic during the experience, but that is apparently not the entire truth, which does come out for better (and mostly) worse.

Cast

Gadd leads the project with his costars: Olivia Vinall, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Umi Myers, Killian Kyle, Danny Ashok, and Miranda Beinart-Smith.

Release Date

Truth Serum will stream on the Omeleto YouTube channel beginning on June 17.

Trailer

Please don’t test out substances from random droppers, but dammit, this does look like fascinating viewing material.

Omar Apollo has fans screaming yes because of his forthcoming album, God Said No. Apollo announced the album in mid-May and immediately dropped the lead single, “Dispose Of Me.” The album is due out on June 28, and Apollo is ramping up the anticipation. On Thursday, June 6, he revealed his next single alongside a tour announcement. “Less Of You” will release at midnight on Friday, June 7, and the God Said No Tour will kick off in Apollo’s native Indiana on Tuesday, August 20, with supporting acts Kevin Abstract, Malcolm Todd, and Ravyn Lenae.

According to a press release, tickets for Apollo’s God Said No Tour will be available first through American Express and Citi pre-sales, each beginning on Tuesday, June 11. An artist pre-sale is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, at 10 a.m. local time, and “additional presales will run throughout the week” before the general onsale begins on Friday, June 14, at 10 a.m. local time.

Omar Apollo’s God Said No Tour 2024 North American Dates

08/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
08/21 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
08/23 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
08/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Highmark Skyline Stage at The Mann
09/03 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
09/04 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
09/06 – Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
09/07 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
09/10 – Cincinnati, OH @ The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park
09/11 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
09/13 – Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
09/14 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
09/16 – Miami, FL @ FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park
09/17 – Orlando, FL @ Orlando Amphitheater
09/19 – Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
09/21 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
09/22 – Irving (Dallas), TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
09/24 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary
09/26 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/29 – Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
10/01 – Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
10/02 – Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield
10/04 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre
10/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/08 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
10/10 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
10/11 – San Diego, CA @ The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

Omar Apollo’s God Said No Album Cover Artwork

Omar Apollo’s God Said No Tracklist

1. “Be Careful With Me”
2. “Spite”
3. “Less Of You”
4. “Done With You”
5. “Plane Trees” Feat. Mustafa
6. “Drifting”
7. “Empty”
8. “Life’s Unfair”
9. “Against Me”
10. “While U Can”
11. “Dispose Of Me”
12. “How”
13. “Pedro”
14. “Glow”

God Said No is out 6/28 via Warner Records. Find more information here.

Steve Harvey has, unfortunately, seen it all. The man has been hosting Family Feud for over a decade, in addition to having his own court show (he is not a real judge). But every once in a while, a response on Family Feud really throws the man off his game, and sometimes it happens twice in a 10-second frenzy.

On a recent episode of the syndicated game show, Harvey asked contestants to name someone you “have sexy dreams about.” Contestant Jarrell wasted no time in answering: “My aunt.” His aunt was not on the board.

Harvey tried to shake it off and asked the next contestant the same thing She promptly answered, “You, Steve,” which shocked the host. Harvey looked speechless and vaguely flattered to be involved. The answer was accepted as “Celebrity/Jason Momoa,” who must be a popular pick.

Other answers in the controversial question included: boss/coworker, clergy, your ex, your in-law, doctor, politician, and “my hot buddy” whatever that means.

Family Feud has been tearing families apart since the ’70s, but Harvey has made it his own. He even admitted that the show was “going to hell” so he’s just having fun with it now! Let the man have fun.

The Walking Dead audience still doesn’t know whether The Ones Who Live will return for a second season. That story feels complete though, right? I mean aside from more hot-and-bothered moaning from Rick and Michonne to come, but let them moan in peace for a bit, I say. Maybe do another season in a few years (or not). In the meantime, however, AMC did not hesitate to renew both the Dead City and Daryl Dixon spin offs, and with fans particularly enthused about the latter, filming went back into full force with a second season now scheduled for around a year after the show debuted.

It’s like The Bear but with juiced-up zombies. Appetizing!

The second season will see Carol travel to France to rescue her friend. She has no idea that Daryl willingly decided to hang in France at the end of his first season, but that’s alright. Seeing them together again (and hugging) will be rewarding no matter how it happens.

When Will The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: The Book Of Carol Come Out?

The season will make the official AMC (and AMC+) debut on Sunday, September 29 at 9:00pm EST. However, some episodes will debut this upcoming weekend at the Tribeca Festival. From the synopsis:

The new season picks up where The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon left off, following fan-favorite characters Daryl Dixon (Reedus) and Carol Peletier (McBride). They 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. Additionally, Genet (Anne Charrier)’s movement builds momentum, setting Pouvoir on a violent collision course with the Union of Hope in the fight for France’s future.

Hopefully, Daryl will get back on a bike when The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon returns on September 29.

Lil Durk is one of a slew of prominent figures in hip-hop to give up some of the substances which rappers have been known to partake in pop culture. In a recent interview reported by TMZ, he broke down his motivations for going to rehab to get clean of codeine and Xanax.

He also described his lifestyle prior to rehab as “moving fast, making excuses, letting the drugs take over me. Codeine and everything. Xanax. But it don’t make me. I can see myself just staying on the right track and trying to change a lot of lives.”

Durk explained of going to rehab, “It was tough at first, but it ain’t that tough because I really knew what I wanted. I knew that was holding me back… I wanted better. I wanted to be a better man, a better father, a better leader — but more action, so I gotta make sure that the self is good before anybody else.”

To that end, Durk has focused on helping people in both big ways — giving over $300,000 to scholarship funds — and small ones, such as helping a homeless man get back on his feet. He also embraced a more optimistic outlook in his music, recruiting J. Cole to feature on the uplifting “All My Life” and reflecting on the “Old Days” with a more levelheaded perspective.