Thailand is where it’s at for Hollywood these days. Not only did Peter Sutherland have his cover blown there in The Night Agent‘s most recent season for Netflix, but that’s where Alien: Earth filmed the imminent arrival of a Xenomorph for FX. Now, Thailand is the place where The White Lotus (after visiting Hawaii and Sicily) will engage in more murder and mystery for for Mike White’s HBO series that Alexandra Daddario declared to be a dream job.
This season will emphasize death a bit more than usual, too, after White was very up front about his initial plans for the season being “a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” Additionally, this was also projected by White to be a “longer, bigger, crazier” season than usual, it’s sweet to see that that first adjective is already coming true.
How Many Episodes Will Be In The White Lotus Season 3?
Eight. That’s up from the first season (six episodes) and the second (seven episodes), so expect even more lurid behavior from this season’s resort guests. And given that Patrick Schwarzenegger ^^^ has a knack for dying in shows (The Terminal List, Gen V), his character had better watch his back.
Jennifer Coolidge, of course, will not return this season after her character was the unfortunate one in Sicily. This year, Natasha Rothwell will be the connecting thread in reprising her first season role of spa worker Belinda.
The White Lotus‘ third season also stars Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Sarah Catherine Hook, Sam Nivola, Walton Goggins, and Aimee Lou Wood. Look forward to them on Feb. 16.
Drake just launched his Anita Max Win Tour in Australia earlier this week. Aside from playing his hits on stage, he’s giving his fans down under another gift: inside scoops about what he has coming up next.
“You know, eventually when the time is right, Drizzy Drake alone by himself is gonna have to have a one-on-one talk to y’all. When the time is right, I’ll be back with another album: a one-on-one conversation with y’all that you need to hear.”
During his first Australian show, Drake began by walking out wearing a hoodie covered in fake bullet holes as his song “Over My Dead Body” played. At the end of the night, he addressed the crowd by saying, “My name is Drake. I started doing music in 2008. I come all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and no matter what, Drizzy Drake is very much alive and that’s all thanks to you. I love you.”
He also wrote on Instagram after the first show, “They thought einstein was lying & shakespeare was barely rhyming & edison wasn’t lit despite what he was designing. So how can I give af what they say about my stars aligning.”
Super Bowl commercials are no longer released during, well, the Super Bowl. For years, they’ve popped up online days ahead of the game, which is both good and bad. Good: the more ads you’ve already seen, the more opportunities you have to get a drink or use the bathroom. Bad: it was fun to watch “The Force” at the same time as millions of other people.
But something tells me even if you check out Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl LIX commercial now, you won’t be able to look away on Sunday.
The ad begins with Becky G being offered a tropical lime-flavored Mountain Dew Baja Blast in her kitchen. After taking a sip, the Grammy winner is transported into an island paradise where she sees a herd of seals, including one who looks a lot like Seal. “Baby, I compare it to a kiss from a lime on the bay / Ooh, the more I think of it, it’s strange I’m a seal,” the seal Seal sings to the tune of “Kiss From A Rose” from the Batman Forever soundtrack. “My flippers can’t hold Mountain Dew / It slips right on through, what a shame.”
As Becky G puts it, “Well, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Watch the full-length version of the Mountain Dew commercial above.
It’s not often the top teams make a significant trade at the deadline, especially teams with 41-10 record, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are determined to learn lessons from the past and build a team that can contend for a title. That meant consolidating some of their wing depth into a player they think is an upgrade for the postseason rotation, and on Thursday the Cavaliers acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks for Caris LeVert and Georges Niang (plus picks), per Shams Charania.
Cavaliers get: De’Andre Hunter Hawks get: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second round picks, two pick swaps
Hunter is in the midst of a career year for the Hawks as their sixth-man, averaging 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 46.1/39.3/85.8 shooting splits. After spending the last two-plus seasons in trade rumors, Hunter finally gets moved and lands on the team with the East’s best record, where they will hope he provides them with the two-way wing they’ve been desperately searching for to complement their star quartet. If Hunter’s shooting improvement from the last two years sustains, he figures to be a very solid fit for the Cavs, but it’ll be interesting to see how they deploy him. He’s excelled in a sixth-man role in Atlanta this year, and Cleveland will have to figure out if he fits best in their starting group or if they should start Max Strus and have Hunter be first off the bench.
For the Hawks, they finally move off a player they’ve been long discussing in trade talks, and while they don’t get the first round pick back they hoped, they do get three seconds and a couple swaps (albeit ones that are unlikely to convey given the apparent stability in Cleveland). They also create some financial flexibility, which they care deeply about in Atlanta, by bringing in LeVert’s expiring and Niang with just one more year on his contract.
The Phoenix Suns have been part of trade rumors for months, as they were the longtime preferred destination of Jimmy Butler. The problem for the Suns was the guy they wanted to trade, Bradley Beal, has a no-trade clause and did not want to move again, putting them back at square one.
After a lot of buzz regarding a Kevin Durant to the Warriors deal (that may have brought them Butler), Durant seemingly shut that down by making it clear he had no interest in a reunion with Golden State. The Warriors and Heat then cut the Suns out of talks and worked out a deal themselves to send Butler to Golden State and Andrew Wiggins to Miami. That left Phoenix without a clear path to an upgrade, but as their shellacking at the hands of the Thunder on Wednesday night proved, they desperately needed one.
On Thursday, the Suns finally found a trade to make, turning Jusuf Nurkic and their 2026 first round pick (which they could trade after turning a future first into three firsts in a trade with the Jazz) into Cody Martin and a bit more from the Hornets, per Shams Charania.
Suns get: Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic, 2026 second round pick Hornets get: Jusuf Nurkic, 2026 first round pick
Martin is averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Hornets this season. A couple days after his twin brother Caleb was traded from Philly to Dallas, Cody now also is on the move to a Western Conference team fighting for Play-In position. Nurkic has completely fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix and heads to a Charlotte team that is focused on ping-pong balls at the moment. There is a big role for Nurkic if he wants to play out the year and try to build his value back up after Charlotte has been active this year in trading away bigs for draft assets, sending Nick Richards to Phoenix earlier this season and flipping Mark Williams to the Lakers on Wednesday night. The first round pick they received is Phoenix’s 2026 first, but three teams (Washington, Orlando, Memphis) have swap rights to that pick, so the Hornets will receive the worst of those four teams’ picks in 2026.
Kendrick Lamar’s big day is coming up, as his February 9 Super Bowl Halftime Show approaches. Ahead of that, it’s customary for the halftime performer to sit down for a press conference interview, and Lamar’s was today (February 6). During it, he discussed the mindset behind his beef with Drake.
He explained:
“My intent, I think from day one, was to always keep the nature of it as a sport. I don’t care how muthaf*ckers look at it as far as, like… a collaborative effort. That’s cool, too, but I love when artists grit their teeth. I still watch battle raps, I still watch Smack/URL, from Murda Mook to Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt… This always been the core definition of who I am, and it’s been that way since day one. […]
What I will say about this year: It was more from a space where I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back, and you didn’t see that: You didn’t see that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore. So I always took that in consideration.”
He also addressed “Not Like Us” recently winning five Grammys, saying, “I just think about the culture, really. It’s always definitely first, I’m not even bullsh*tting with you. When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it’s just rap and it’s not an actual art form. So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people it’s more than just something that came 50 years ago. […] [People] kind of belittle it, so I love to see it get that kind of recognition.”
As is usually the case with top teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a quiet trade deadline week while the rest of the league descends into chaos around them. Sam Presti has gotten his fix of acquiring more second round picks with a swap with the Hornets and taking on Daniel Theis from the Pelicans to help them duck the tax, but the West’s current top seed is, understandably, looking to keep things together.
While the Thunder have ample ammunition to make a big move, there’s no real reason to when you are 40-9 and the vibes are as good as they have been in Oklahoma City. That could change this summer if they have another early exit from the postseason, but for now they’re happy to ride the positivity and give this young group a shot at a title run. While they don’t figure to make any significant deadline trades, they are getting a big boost on deadline week in the form of Chet Holmgren’s return to the lineup, as he was removed from the injury report ahead of their game on Friday against the Raptors and announced he was back on social media.
Holmgren has missed the last three months with a fractured hip he suffered in a hard fall against the Warriors in early November. Without him, the Thunder have continued ripping through the NBA, but for this team to be a legitimate championship contender, they’ll need Holmgren in the lineup.
Prior to his injury, Holmgren was averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game on 50.5/37.8/77.6 shooting splits — all very similar averages to his standout rookie campaign. Now he returns to the Thunder lineup and will play with Isaiah Hartenstein for the first time, as their big free agent signing this summer was out with an injury to start the season and didn’t return until after Holmgren was hurt. It’s never as easy as just plugging a guy in and adding his stats to what you already have, but Holmgren unquestionably elevates the Thunder’s ceiling. There may be an adjustment period needed for them to figure out exactly how to play together, but it’s not hard to see how all of the pieces in OKC can complement each other.
On offense, Holmgren’s ability to shoot and space the floor along with Hartenstein’s passing ability as a high-post hub, figure to give them plenty of space to work as a two-big lineup. On defense, they will create major problems for opponents trying to get to the rim, but Mark Daigneault’s task will be figuring out exactly how to deploy them and what coverages they work best in with regards to switching, blitzing, dropping, and more. OKC will likely experiment with different things in that two-big lineup for the next couple months with an eye on knowing their strengths come playoff time, where they hope to be healthy and make a Finals run.
NBA All-Star Weekend is headed to San Francisco next week, as the league’s best will play at Chase Center in a new All-Star Game format. This year there will be three teams of 8 All-Stars, plus the winning team of the Rising Stars tournament, competing in a mini-tournament as the league looks to change things up after some lackluster games of late.
With the new format came the need for three All-Star uniforms this year instead of just two, and on Thursday we got our first look at what each team will be wearing in San Francisco. Like a year ago in Indianapolis, the uniforms feature a pretty classic look, with a red, a navy, and a light blue look for the three teams.
NBANBA
They are perfectly solid uniforms (which isn’t always the case for All-Star attire) and feature some little details unique to the Bay. The navy and light blue uniforms feature the Oakland oak tree on the belt of the shorts, while the red uniforms feature a San Francisco cable car. I do like the All-Star logo this year with the Golden Gate bridge behind the star, and that’s featured prominently on all three jerseys.
The court also features the Golden Gate bridge silhouette with a blue and yellow court that will certainly draw some reactions on both sides.
NBA
All told, this year’s All-Star look is solid and we’ll find out on Sunday, Feb. 16 if the new format is a hit or not.
Each week our staff of film and television experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.
Netflix’s most-watched show ever is back. Squid Game season 2 sees the return of Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a.k.a. Player 456, who has only one goal: to end the horrifying competition for good. This time, Gi-hun finds himself “locked in a tense battle” with the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), as well as trying to survive against the other competitors. Squid Game is the rare water-cooler show in the “death of the monoculture” era. Keep up if you want to know what your co-workers are talking about.
Noah Wyle? As a doctor? It’s crazy enough to work. This time, the ER star works in a hospital in Pittsburgh, and the show is “a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes.” The entire 15-episode first season takes place over the course of one 15-hour emergency room shift, not unlike 24.
Sebastian Stan received career-best reviews for his performance in A Different Man, in which he plays Edward, an inspiring actor who undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance. But his dream turns into a nightmare when he loses out on the role he was born to play to the uber-confident Oswald (Adam Pearson), who has the same genetic condition he once had. A Different Man is a surreal, thought provoking, and inventive film.
12. Severance (Apple TV Plus)
Apple TV+
After a long, long break, one of the best shows on TV is back. Severance picks up where season 1 left off, with Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Helly Riggs), Dylan (Dylan), and Irving (Irving Bailiff) trifling with the severance barrier, “leading them further down a path of woe,” according to the cryptic Apple TV Plus synopsis. There are so many mysteries left to answer: what’s the deal with Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman)? What’s the deal with Seth Milchick (series MVP Tramell Tillman)? And seriously, what’s the deal with the freaking goats?
Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Oscars is unusually stacked. Inside Out 2 is the frontrunner considering how much money it made, but honestly, it’s probably the weakest of the nominees. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a delight, obviously, while the beautiful and heartbreaking Flow is my personal favorite. But don’t sleep on The Wild Robot, a charming critical and commercial hit from Lilo & Stitch co-director Chris Sanders about a robot learning to adapt to their surroundings in the great outdoors. It’s very good.
Mike Judge and Greg Daniels have been attached to some of the best TV comedies of the last 30 years, including Parks and Recreation, The Simpsons, and The Office for Daniels and Beavis and Butt-Head and Silicon Valley for Judge. They also co-created King of the Hill. Their latest collaboration is producing Common Side Effects, a surreal Adult Swim animated series about the “world’s greatest medicine” from creators Joseph Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (30 Rock). Episodes will stream the next day on Max.
Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon star in You’re Cordially Invited, a big-hearted romantic-comedy about two weddings being booked on the same day at the same venue. The father (Ferrell) of one bride and the sister (Witherspoon) of the other go “head-to-head as they stop at nothing to uphold an unforgettable celebration for their loved ones.” Beyond Witherspoon, You’re Cordially Invited has a strong rom-com pedigree with writer and director Nicholas Stoller, who previously made Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
8. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Disney Plus)
disney plus
Spider-Man: you know him, you love him (unless you’re J. Jonah Jameson, then you want more pictures of him). Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated throwback to a time when the web slinger was as concerned with his high school studies as he was saving the citizens of New York. Hopefully there are fewer galaxy-threatening portals than in the MCU movies.
Mo is a special series. The Netflix comedy-drama follows Mo Najjar (played by creator Mo Amer), a Palestinian refugee living in Houston, Texas, as he attempts to secure asylum. Season 2 begins with Mo stranded across the border in Mexico, and he’ll need “all the hustle and charm he can muster” to return to the States. Mo is timely, hilarious, and heartbreaking.
A new season of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is coming later this year, but don’t forget about Rob McElhenney’s other excellent comedy series. Mythic Quest season 4 (also the show’s final season) brings everyone — including McElhenney’s Ian, Charlotte Nicdao’s Poppy, and Danny Pudi’s Brad — back together at Mythic Quest HQ, where they’ll confront “new challenges amongst a changing video game landscape as stars rise, egos clash, relationships bloom and everyone tries to have a little more work life balance.” I’ll miss Ian and Poppy’s Don and Peggy-like fraught yet platonic relationship the most.
Pharrell Williams probably isn’t the first musician you would think of to have his life story be turned into a movie, let alone a movie that tells his life story through Lego. That is, until you remember, oh yeah, he wrote and/or produced “Happy,” “Get Lucky,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Hollaback Girl,” “Rock Your Body,” “Milkshake.” So, yeah, now it makes more sense. Piece By Piece also features interviews with some of Pharrell’s famous collaborators, including Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, and Jay Z.
Yes, We Live In Time has the goofy-looking horse, but it’s also a moving film that stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield as Almut and Tobias, who hit it off following a, uh, car accident. “Through snapshots of their life together — falling for each other, building a home, becoming a family — a difficult truth is revealed that rocks its foundation,” the official plot synopsis reads. “As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken.”
Clean Slate is one of the final projects from the late Norman Lear, the creator and/or producer of All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford And Son, Good Times, and Maude. The comedy follows Alabama car wash owner Harry (played by George Wallace) who learns that his child, who he thought was his son, is actually a trans woman named Desiree (Laverne Cox). As per Prime Video: “Her homecoming brings together a hilarious cast of friends, coworkers, and love interests, as Desiree and Harry try to get it right the second time around
Prime Video has two very popular depraved superhero shows: the one that’s animated, and the one that it isn’t. Invincible is the animated one, and it’s back for another season of a shockingly effective “pairing [of] consistent bone-squishing action with a slow-burning plot.” In season 3, Mark (voiced by Steven Yeun) is forced to face his past and his future, while discovering how much further he’ll need to go to protect the people he loves.
Ahead of playing season 2’s most polarizing character on The Last Of Us, the great Kaitlyn Dever stars in Apple Cider Vinegar. The limited series tells the “true-ish story” of Belle Gibson (Dever), an Australian wellness influencer who claims to have cured her terminal brain cancer through health and wellness. As you might imagine, Belle is full of crap. Apple Cider Vinegar is about the rise of a wellness empire, and the inevitable downfall.
Last week, Severance delivered both goats and Gwendoline Christie. This week, you had better make sure that (if you cannot abide by spoilers) you stay away from social media until you have time to set aside that hour because, well, the ramifications of this episode will reverberate.
In fact, this one might make you forget about last week’s creatures for a little while, and you’ll obviously wanna know when that will take place.
When Will Severance Season 2, Episode 4 Be Available?
February 6.
This week’s episode is titled “Woe’s Hollow” and arrives with this description: “The team traverses unfamiliar terrain. Mark and Helly explore their feelings. Irving harbors a growing distrust of a friend.”
In its second season, Severance remains one of Apple TV+’s best shows, which is surely rewarding for creator Dan Erickson and director Ben Stiller, especially since Stiller recently revealed to Hollywood Reporter that he had to push like crazy to get Adam Scott cast, and the Parks and Rec actor understands why:
“I couldn’t really blame [Apple] at the time. I was thought of as more of a comedic person, and it’s a big swing… I’ve never experienced anything like that before in show business. No one’s ever stuck their neck out for me like that.”
Stiller, however, saw Scott as a natural fit for this workplace satire. “So much of the show is based in The Office and Parks and Rec and Office Space, and that genre,” he related. “The humor in the script that Dan wrote was in that world but had this other layer to it. Casting was about figuring out who could handle that.” And the rest is Lumon history.
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