Category: News

James Bond who? MGM Studios will eventually find their new 007, and multiplexes will be full when he does arrive on the big screen again. However, no shortage exists of espionage-fueled stories on the small screen with Slow Horses, The Day Of The Jackal, and Black Doves leading recent streaming trends. Soon, an upcoming movie stars Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor (who was phenomenal in Netflix’s Fair Play, if you’d like to see her in thriller mode now) and House of the Dragon baddie Rhys Ifans as a daughter-father duo who do not fare well within an international conspiracy.

That shouldn’t be too shocking, since that’s how these stories begin, but director Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent, The Illusionist) promises a different arc in Inheritance, so let’s get down to it.

Plot

Dynevor portrays Maya, who begins the film reeling after her mother’s death. She falls into alcohol-soaked mourning but then falls in with her estranged father, only to learn that he was “once a spy.” Well, that’s not exactly in the past. As the movie’s trailer reveals, the two set up shop together, but Dad disappears, leaving Maya to embark upon a dangerous rescue mission.

The film features extensive action scenes, including Dynevor hanging over New York on a harness, and “I also almost got arrested for staying in character on the streets of New York and thinking I was in a ‘Borat’ movie.” This film is also sequel-minded, if audiences respond to the IFC Films project. Dynevor wants to see Maya “thriving” as “a wonderful spy,” if that tells you anything at all about what she “inherits” from Dad.

How is this film different than every other spy thriller out there right now? For starters, Burger shot the movie on an iPhone. As Dynevor told Indiewire, that “guerrilla” aesthetic made the movie “a unique experience and probably something I’ll never get to do again.” The production went globetrotting, and “[t]here was no wait time for camera set- ups, no makeup checks, or rehearsals. We’d arrive at the location and then immediately shoot as much as we could in the time that we had. It enabled us to travel with a small crew and have to stay in character a lot.”

In the same interview, Burger described his leading lady’s performance as entirely different than Bridgerton would lead you to believe. Maya is “witty and caustic and self-destructive and enterprising.” He added, “She had a toughness and a wit I hadn’t expected and I was completely sold. Since then I’ve seen how incredibly talented she is. Up until now, people have only seen a tiny sliver of what she’s capable of. ‘Inheritance’ will change that — people will be knocked out by her performance.”

Cast

Phoebe Dynevor and Rhys Ifans lead with appearances from Ciara Baxendale, Majd Eid, and more.

Release Date

Inheritance arrives on January 24, 2025.

Trailer

The full trailer promises a tense ride, not necessarily while calling it spying.

Outside of her hit-filled decades long career, Cher is notoriously known for her love of younger men. The “Believe” singer’s romantic history as a courage dates back to her 1980s fling with actor Val Kilmer to Cher’s present day boyfriend, music executive Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards. Still, even Cher has age restrictions when it comes to love.

In Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee claimed the late music producer and convicted murderer Phil Spector propositioned her for sex when she was 15 years old.

When describing their first encounter, Cher wrote that after her boyfriend at the time, musician Antonino LoTempio introduced them, Spector made her uncomfortable by the way her looked her “up and down.”

“He might have been a demigod to many, but he acted weird, and I didn’t like how he stared at me,” she wrote.

Cher then said Spector made his move which he thought would go over her head as it was verbalized in French. “‘Voulez-vous coucher avec moi,’” he alleged asked.

Roughly translated to English Spector’s question was “Do you want to sleep with me?”

“Without breaking a sweat, I gave him a look back and replied, ‘Oui, pour l’argent,’” she replied which translates to “Yes, for the money.”

According to Cher, Spector was rattled by her answer, writing: “You could have knocked him over with a feather. He didn’t think I’d understand the question, let alone have an answer.”

This wouldn’t be the last time the pair found themselves in a tense moment. Cher alleged that Spector pulled a gun on her when she confronted him about “illegally using her vocals in a single” he released in Europe.

Cher: The Memoir, Part One is out now via HarperCollins. Find more information here.

Nicki Minaj is in hot water or at least she could be. In a recently filed lawsuit, the “Arctic Tundra” rapper’s ex-manager accused Minaj (real name Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty) of physically assaulting him back in April 2024 during the Pink Friday 2 World Tour.

Now, it appears the incident is under investigation by local authorities. According to TMZ, Detroit Police have sent a warrant request naming Nicki Minaj to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

Legal sources close to the matter tell the outlet that it is now up to Detroit’s prosecutor “to decide if they’ll file criminal charges” against Minaj. Although Brandon Garrett remains steadfast on the assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress allegations listed in his filing, evidence will need to be gathered from the day in question before it can move forward.

Minaj’s lawyer Judd Burstein denied Garrett’s claims in a statement issued to the outlet. “At this time, no complaint has been served upon Mrs. Petty,” he said. “Therefore, we are unaware of the specific allegations. However, if the lawsuit is as reported by TMZ, it is completely false and frivolous. We are confident that the matter brought by this ex assistant will be resolved swiftly in Mrs. Petty’s favor.”

Garrett is also seeking undisclosed damages for the alleged incident.

Now that the calendar has turned to 2025, we are just 7 months away from the start of the NBA’s new media rights deal, which means new rights holders NBC and Amazon Prime Video are looking to fill out their teams for game broadcasts and studio coverage.

NBC figures to have some of their team already on staff, particularly in the hosting and play-by-play realm, with the likes of Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, and Maria Taylor all potentially playing a role in their NBA plans — and Jamal Crawford signed on to do game analyst work. Amazon, however, has to build everything from scratch and are already filling out an impressive roster of talent themselves. Ian Eagle will be their lead play-by-play man, while Taylor Rooks has reportedly signed on as the host of their studio coverage.

Joining Rooks on the Amazon studio desk will be two recent stars, with Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin reportedly signing deals with the streaming giant, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Nowitzki was previously reported to be in agreement on a deal with Amazon, and he’s shown he has solid TV chops in guest appearances on TNT’s Inside the NBA in the past. Griffin is, I think, a huge get for Amazon as he’s the recent former player I think could be the closest thing to Charles Barkley on TV in terms of just being authentically funny and not afraid of making a joke about anyone, including himself — Draymond Green, to be clear, is way more Shaq than Chuck when it comes to his persona on TV.

There are still plenty of spots still to fill out for both NBC and Amazon on their broadcast lineups. The Prime Video studio desk likely still needs at least one more analyst (a host and three analysts has become the standard thanks to Inside, with Amazon’s NFL desk having four analysts), while NBC still needs to fill out its studio team and both have a long way to go in adding game analysts and more play-by-play men and women. Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are both names that have popped up as big-name options for both networks, and then there are also those currently at TNT who could end up in a new home as well. I also wouldn’t be surprised if ESPN looks to get in on the hiring spree to refresh their game coverage for next season as well.

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

10. Dexter: Original Sin – Showtime series streaming on Paramount+

Michael C. Hall’s monologue acts as the indispensable link that connects this show to the rest of the franchise, but Patrick Gibson’s starring turn is growing on Dexter devotees. Likewise, Molly Brown is going to town on why Deb has such a chip on her shoulder, not to mention some attachment issues, and Christian Slater is perfect at revealing Harry Morgan’s inner turmoil while bestowing Dexter with a code. Don’t worry about this series eclipsing the flagship series’ mojo, though, because Hall will appear in the flesh in Dexter: Resurrection as the killer of serial killers who will not die. Also, there will be a Trinity Killer prequel show because obviously.

9. The Agency – Paramount+ series

Man, Michael Fassbender loves to portray spies, assassins, and any combination therein. This series is a new take on French TV show Le Bureau des Legendes, and Paramount+ With Showtime has declared their show to be a streaming hit, so there will probably be future seasons. In the meantime, viewers are still acquainting themselves with Fassbender’s character, who is really called “Martian,” and his double-life romantic dalliances (with Jodie Turner-Smith) that have gone crashing into his professional sphere.

8. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth – Peacock series

Colin Firth is back in ultra-serious mode (sadly, there will be a Mark Darcy-shaped hole in the fourth Bridget Jones movie) in this series inspired by the real-life tragedy of Pan Am Flight 103’s 1988 explosion over a Scottish town. Firth (as Dr. Jim Swire, whose daughter perished in the disaster) picks up the role of a spokesperson for UK families who lost loved ones, and what he discovers will change his entire worldview.

7. No Good Deed – Netflix series

Dead To Me showrunner Liz Feldman brought back Linda Cardellini in this whodunnit-type murder mystery series. Linda portrays a glossy socialite and pain in the ass alongside characters portrayed by Lisa Kudrow, Ray Romano, O-T Fagbenle, Luke Wilson, and Denis Leary. Feldman has talked with Entertainment Weekly about her plans for the show’s possible future, which would involve a “whole new house,” so don’t get too attached to any of these characters. Simply enjoy.

6. Black Doves – Netflix series

It took too long for Keira Knightley to portray a spy (Helen) with a gay-assassin best friend (Sam) in this cozy-thriller series with a bit of John Wick flavor. Regular doses of bleak humor and a stellar supporting cast (including Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Buchan, Ella Lily Hyland, and Andrew Koji) left this show’s audience wanting more but also feeling satisfied, which is precisely where every series should take its regularly scheduled breaks. I’d still like to know how Helen manages to miss out on so much sleep and still function as a homemaker after her revenge sprees, but alright, fine. Belief duly suspended.

5. Carry-On – Netflix movie

This high-concept film leaves the sequel door open but is also entertaining of its own volition. Taron Egerton stars as a TSA agent who must thwart a plan to wreak havoc during the Christmas travel season, and Jason Bateman going villain with the always underrated Theo Rossi is worth the price of admission. It’s not a The Outsider and Emily The Criminal crossover, but it’s close enough and worth plopping into the queue.

4. Landman – Paramount+ series

Ainsley is starting to cool down a bit. Whew. Michelle Randolph’s character has proven to be both controversial and viral, and the 1923 actress has (as she told Screenrant) found a way to film her performance and “put it out into the world, and that’s where my job kind of ends.” How people “interpret” her character is something that she’s had to let go of, but Randolph was probably still relieved to see Ainsley put away the sexual comments and sunbathing sessions for a new character arc. Will it last? Billy Bob Thornton’s Tommy Norris would prefer as much, but we’ll see how Ainsley completes the season and if Taylor Sheridan can crack more bawdy jokes in the meantime.

3. Shining Vale – Starz series streaming on Max

This Warner Bros. TV series was cancelled last year by Starz after two seasons, but the Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear-starring series has found life on Max. Does this mean that the series will be miraculously renewed by WBD? Probably not, but that won’t deter people from wondering the answer to that question, so get ready. Cox and Kinnear star as a couple desperate to save their marriage (after he has an affair), so they decide that moving from NYC to Connecticut could solve their issues. Unfortunately for the whole family, their new Victorian-era abode is haunted as heck by a ghost portrayed by Mira Sorvino, and yep, this is a satiric horror comedy series that came naturally for longtime Scream star Cox.

2. Missing You – Netflix series

Harlan Coben is swiftly becoming streaming royalty, and here, he created this limited series about a detective who probably should have stayed off the dating apps. That’s actually wonderful advice for almost everybody, but this series still rolls with a Missing Persons unit sleuth who matches with one who got away, and of course, there are terrible secrets that will be uncovered. If you’re down for a romantically-framed thriller, expect some outrageous twists.

1. Squid Game – Netflix series

A third and final season is underway after Netflix pulled off another mammoth streaming launch of this Hwang Dong-hyuk-created survival series. How, exactly, is Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) still alive? The better question is whether he will survive the arena again in the series finale, which will arrive later this year for more games against the death machine. The metaphors of this show remain stark, and the audience is still hooked and waiting for more.

Have you heard of Concord? Unless you listen to video game-focused podcasts (Triple Jump is a good one), probably not! But you should: Concord is one of the biggest financial disasters in entertainment history.

Sony’s hero shooter, which was in development for eight years and reportedly had a $400 million budget, was released on August 23, 2024. Less than two weeks later, Concord was taken offline and everyone who bought a copy (all 25,000 of you) was refunded. Just like that, Concord — which cost more than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy to make — was gone.

Except in Secret Level. The Prime Video animated anthology series is set within the worlds of different video games, including Armored Core, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and yes, Concord. It’s a rare instance of people being more familiar with the tie-in material than the original, since Secret Level had the biggest animated series debut in Prime Video history within its first week. Safe to say, it was a more successful debut than Concord.

Since Secret Level is doing so well, Prime Video quickly renewed it for season 2. Here’s what we know.

Plot

Secret Level tells original stories in existing video games (shout out to the Pac-Man and Mega Man episodes). There are no specific plot details about season 2 yet, but creator Tim Miller, who also oversaw Netflix’s Love, Death, & Robots, talked to Rolling Stone about the process of turning games into anthology episodes for the Blur Studio-produced series.

“If you think of a game as a long-term event or happening, and you just focus on one part of it, or one character in it, [you] could do a slice of life, or you could do something that has a full arc,” he explained. “It’s a very short arc, but an arc, nonetheless. Trying to focus on that, it really wasn’t hard to find interesting bits of lore and characters to push into stories.”

As you might imagine, there are plenty of video games that Miller and supervising director Dave Wilson wanted to adapt, but either the owners of the IP aren’t interested, or it would be a legal nightmare to do so.

“I get a little chafed when I read online,” Miller told Collider, “and they’re like, ‘Hold on, these assholes took Spelunky when they could have taken Halo?’ Or something like that. I’m like, man, you think that we didn’t talk to Halo or something?” Wilson even wrote an “impassioned letter of my childhood” to Microsoft and id Software about a crossover episode featuring Master Chief from Halo and Doom Slayer from Doom. What did he hear back? “Nah.” They also “begged” for a Half-Life episode. Alas…

Miller continued:

“But there are no black-and-white choices here. It’s not like we could just have anything we wanted, or they were all available. There are lots of different reasons. We did the best we could, and I love all the games that we have, and there are so many more games that we could have. That’s the trouble, too, is that we could make 10 seasons of this and still not run out of games that we like.”

Maybe by season 10, we’ll get a Kingdom Hearts episode.

Cast

The cast for season 2 of Secret Level hasn’t been announced, but the voice actors for season 1 included Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Kevin Hart, Laura Bailey, Gabriel Luna, Ariana Greenblatt, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Michael Beach, Emily Swallow, Claudia Doumit, Parry Shen, Nelson Lee, Élodie Yung, Clive Standen, Ricky Whittle, Brenock O’Connor, Erin Yvette, Temuera Morrison, and Derek Phillips.

Release Date

There’s no release date yet, but considering Secret Level season 2 was only officially renewed last month, it’s going to be awhile.

Trailer

You can check out the trailer for Secret Level season 1 below.

Bono is a rather established entertainer. As the frontman of U2, the “Atomic City” musician has crushed several records. As an individual, Bono has leveraged his fame to raise awareness for many notable social causes. Today (January 4), Bono’s efforts on both ends were acknowledged by the nation’s highest office.

During a ceremony held White House, President Joe Biden awarded Bono with the Medal Of Freedom. In a statement shared to U2’s official Instagram page (viewable here), Bono expressed his gratitude for the presidential recognition. “Thank you, President Biden,” he wrote. “Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was. Rock n roll gave me my freedom… and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my bandmates – Edge, Adam, and Larry – without whom I would never have found my voice.”

This deep show of appreciation was also displayed as the honor was placed upon his next in a clip posted by C-SPAN (viewable here).

The White House’s press office credited Bono’s receipt of the country’s highest civil honor to his “pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty” and his unification of “politicians from opposing parties” to create the United States PEPFAR AIDS program.

Drake’s forthcoming joint album with PartyNextDoor wasn’t the only Canadian collaboration he had up his sleeve. Today (January 4), the “No Face” rapper’s OVO Clothing brand unveiled its collection with national pride and retired NHL star Wayne Gretzky.

In a series of post uploaded to the company’s official Instagram page, it unveiled the multiple piece line. “October’s Very Own and The Gretzky Hockey School are pleased to announce a continued partnership,” wrote the company. “Celebrating the Great One’s legacy and passion for the game by shaping the next generation of hockey’s brightest stars.”

October’s Very Own and The Gretzky Hockey School’s collection features a varsity jacket (priced at $898), hoodie (priced at $198), crewneck sweater (priced at $168), short sleeve t-shirt (priced at $68), snapback hat (priced at $68), and a commemorate hockey card (priced at $78). Every clothing item features Gretzky’s 99 jersey number. Except for the white and gold crewneck, all other garments have two color options (black and silver as well as blue and orange).

OVO Clothing’s ‘The Great One’ collection in partnership with Wayne Gretzky’s The Gretzky Hockey School is available to shop now while supplies last. However, according to the webpage, the items will not be shipped until after January 15. Find more information here.

All eyes are on Ariana Grande. While this isn’t a new phenom for “The Boy Is Mine” singer, her breakout role in Wicked has certainly amplified things.

Unfortunately, the heighten attention sparked a few disgusting rumors surrounding Ariana Grande appearance. Yesterday (January 3), during the 36th annual Palm Springs International Film Awards, Grande clarified a joke she made about Botox during her Rising Star acceptance speech.

While chatting with ET, Grande delivered a rebuttal to her onstage humor. “Omg,” she laughed. “My joke. My bit. I’m still clean. I’m clean. But when I start going again, I will let you know. I mean it.”

She went on to stress why it was important for her to clean up the joke. “I really want to be transparent as a beauty founder,” she said. “As a founder of r.e.m. beauty, I think it’s important to have transparency.”

Grande closed by saying: “I love it, but I am still four years clean.”

Last month, Ariana Grande urged others to refrain from commenting on others physical appearance after being bullied online. “I think in today’s society, there’s a comfortability that we shouldn’t have at all, commenting on others’ looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes, or health, or how they present themselves,” she said.

Just last month, SZA released her long-awaited album, SOS Deluxe: Lana. The body of work has already proven to be a successful drop after it became the first No. 1 album of 2025. Still, despite the project’s fanfare and recently milestone, the “Drive” singer seems to be planning her retirement from music.

Today (January 4), SZA took to her official X (formerly Twitter) page to tease what her exit plan from music consists of. “To fulfill my last 2 album requirements I think I just wanna make peaceful children’s music,” she wrote. “[And] get outta here.”

After revealing her professional split from her longtime manager, Terrence ‘Punch’ Henderson, users online speculated that SZA could be the next act to depart from the Top Dawg Entertainment roster. However, SZA quickly shut down those rumors in a series of post online. But her recent statement has fans on the edge.

SZA closed the upload by detailing what she plans to do when she officially hands up her microphone for good. “Then go be a farmer and donate the produce to underserved communities,” she wrote.

Although the comments were disabled for SZA’s post, supporters online have chimed expressing their premature heartbreak. Others have jokingly brushed off SZA’s unprovoked confession claiming it would be nearly a decade before both of her obligatory albums hit streaming platforms citing the gap between CTRL and SOS.

SZA has made bold claims in the past. Could this be another one of those instances?