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In a big move for fans of Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Timm, who brought the classic Dark Knight cartoon to life, has teamed up with The Batman director Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams for an all-new series. Titled Batman: Caped Crusader, Warner Bros. Animation wants fans to know that new series will not be a sequel to the ’90s staple, but instead, will “once again reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.” Via Entertainment Weekly:

“We are beyond excited to be working together to bring this character back, to tell engrossing new stories in Gotham City,” Timm, Reeves, and Abrams said in a joint statement. “The series will be thrilling, cinematic and evocative of Batman’s noir roots, while diving deeper into the psychology of these iconic characters. We cannot wait to share this new world.”

Along with the press release announcing Batman: Caped Crusader, a new poster was unveiled to promote the series that will appear on both HBO Max and Cartoon Network:

On top of the Batman: Caped Crusader news, Warner Bros. Animation also announced My Adventures with Superman. According to Deadline, that animated series will focus on a “twenty-something” Superman and Lois, voiced by The Boys star Jack Quaid and Alice Lee, respectively, as “as they begin to discover who they are and everything they can accomplish together as an investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly, Deadline)

In 2018, Rosalía shared some photos of herself in the studio with Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin). Naturally, this got music fans excited for whatever it was they were cooking up, but the wait for the release has been a long one. Now, though, the fruits of their collective labor have been revealed, as Rosalía features on a new version of Magic Oneohtrix Point Never album closer “Nothing’s Special.” The song stays mostly the same as the original, except Lopatin’s vocals have been replaced with Rosalía singing in Spanish.

Lopatin previously told Apple Music of the original version of the song, “There’s a kind of thesis in it. It was a really rough f*cking year and it’s been hard for everybody. Something that’s always given me a lot of solace when I’m in a funk is that I notice that I’ve become disenchanted. The thing that can kind of re-enchant me very quickly when I get there is to remember that — like the Philip K. Dick quote said — everything is kind of divine, and everything is interesting, including the stuff between the dials. The noise. I wanted to end the album on a high note, so it crescendos towards the lyric that says no matter how bleak things get, I’m still fundamentally fascinated that I can find such enchantment in such random, small things.”

Listen to “Nothing’s Special” above.

With the Saw spin-off Spiral: From The Book Of Saw coming out over the weekend, it was only right that the guests on last night’s episode of The Tonight Show would be the film’s star Chris Rock and the executive producer of the film’s soundtrack, 21 Savage. Given the film’s gory, film noir style, host Jimmy Fallon decided to play detective himself, inviting Rock and Savage to play a game of “True Confessions.”

Giving each of the stars two envelopes containing “confessions,” one true and one false, Fallon challenged them to interrogate each other to determine which was the true one. The shy 21 turned out to be the most game — and credulous — when he instantly believes Chris’ first confession (“I’ve shared a joint with Woody Harrelson on top of the Empire State Building”) is true, no questions asked. This prompts some hilarious commentary from the comedian, naturally, but Savage holds fast.

Jimmy’s confession turns out to be about him dating Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen — which 21 believes again, despite not knowing who Gisele is. Seriously, deal me in at his poker table, I’m bluffing him every time and taking ALL his money. Savage’s confession involves getting his pilot’s license and wanting to be in the Air Force. I won’t spoil it for you but it’s great TV. To check out something Savage is good at, check out his raps on “Emergency” and Young Nudy’s “Child’s Play.”

Watch 21 Savage and Chris Rock face-off with Jimmy Fallon above.

R.L. Stine was the gateway drug into horror for millions of readers. He’s best known for Goosebumps (I’ll never forgive him for the The Horror at Camp Jellyjam book cover), but for the slightly older crowd, there was Fear Street. A movie adaptation of the teen-leaning series, which consists of over 50 books in the original run, but there’s numerous spin-offs like Fear Street Super Chiller, has long been in the works. But it’s finally coming to Netflix. Not just one film, either, but a trilogy that spans over 300 years.

“It’s kind of a hybrid. It’s kind of a new thing,” writer and director Leigh Janiak told the New York Times about the Fear Street trilogy. “It’s a mix between a traditional movie and what would be considered traditional TV: Each installment, each part, tells its own story but it’s also very connected to the next piece. That is a very exciting thing for me as a filmmaker.” The “one killer story” will be released over three weeks.

Here’s the official plot summary:

In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations ​may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. Based on R.L. Stine’s best selling horror series, the trilogy follows the nightmare through Shadyside’s sinister history.

Fear Street Part One: 1994 comes out on July 2, followed by Fear Street Part Two: 1978 on July 9 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 on July 16.

Seventeen years after the series finale, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey, and Ross will hog the couch in Central Perk once again.

Friends: The Reunion premieres on HBO Max later this month, with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer in tow, along with special guests BTS, Lady Gaga, James Corden, Justin Bieber, Mindy Kaling, Cara Delevingne, David Beckham, and Kit Harington, for some reason. The special will also feature appearances from recurring cast members, including Tom Selleck (Richard), Reese Witherspoon (Jill), and Maggie Wheeler (Janice).

But there’s one fan favorite not on the list, and Friends fans are not happy.

Paul Rudd, who played Phoebe’s love interest Mike Hannigan, isn’t expected to appear in Friends: The Reunion, possibly because he declined the invitation or he’s busy — or maybe he (and Hank Azaria?) will make a surprise post-credits cameo to surprise Phoebe. He’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after all. He’s used to that.

As for Mike is up to in 2021, Kudrow told People that she thinks he and Phoebe are “living in Connecticut with [their] kids, and she’s in charge of the arts program for the school. And just… the advocate for her kids because they’re different like she was.”

Friends: The Reunion premieres on HBO Max on May 27.

Last October, Showtime announced that Dexter, the most popular series in network history would be returning, which we all assumed would eventually happen when the series failed to kill off Michael C. Hall’s title character in the eighth season finale. Even at the time, Showtime executives refused to rule out a revival, and Michael C. Hall himself has left open the door for years. The only real surprise is that it took them this long.

What has been surprising, however, has been the location change — it’s moving from Miami to upstate New York — and the fact that it’s not bringing back any of the other original characters, according to James Remar, who played Dexter’s Dad and, arguably, his Dark Passenger in the original series.

Notwithstanding Remar’s comment, there’s still plenty of evidence to suggest that Jennifer Carpenter’s Debra Morgan will return, especially since Remar isn’t. Who else would embody Dexter’s Dark Passenger on a series where a Dark Passenger is part of the premise?

Debra Morgan, however, is likely to be the only returning character aside from Dexter himself, which would ultimately be a wise decision on the part of the series original showrunner, Clyde Phillips, who is also running the revival. The old Dexter series was broken — the wheels had started to come off in Season Five, and by the end of the series in Season Eight, it no longer had wheels of which to speak. Michael C. Hall was carrying the show on his back, and even he seemed disinterested in his own character by the end. Hall has recently conceded that the finale was unsatisfying, but a revival was never going to be successful if it returned to the same Miami location and attempted to pick up where it left off.

That’s because where it left off was a really bad place. Dexter had burned his bridges with the Miami Metro Police Department after he faked his death. There was no way the character could return and resume his job as a blood spatter expert. Besides, Quinn and Batista knew that Dexter killed Oliver Saxon in the finale, and while they were content to chalk it up as self-defense with Dexter leaving, it would’ve been more difficult to let that go if he was going to continue working for the police department.

Besides, there wasn’t enough glue to keep those characters together. Lt. Maria LaGuerta is dead, and Debra is dead, and both Quinn and Batista had completely exhausted their characters by the end. Quinn himself was largely defined by his relationship to Debra. The only other character that might have been worth reviving is Vince Masuka, but even he — with his sleazy sexist quips and self-deprecating jokes about Asian stereotypes — probably wouldn’t have held up well in 2021.

Truthfully, a new location is exactly what the revival needed, one very far away from Miami. However, it would have stretched credulity immensely to inject members of the Miami police department into whatever murders need to be investigated. Batista could have never gotten away with those short-sleeve button-up shirts in upstate New York, anyway.

In fact, the best thing the Dexter revival could do to remove the stain of those last four seasons was to distance itself from the original series and reboot not the show, but the character. Dexter himself is why we continued to watch long past the show’s expiration date. The idea of a serial-killing vigilante psychopath with a moral code still resonates, even in 2021. That’s where the focus should remain. Bringing the other characters back, alas, would be simple fan service. As we have seen with other revivals more interested in giving the fans what they want than telling new stories (Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls), it doesn’t work, except in the short-term to trigger our nostalgia. Dexter hasn’t been away long enough yet to appeal to nostalgia, and besides, the memories most have of the latter half of the series aren’t exactly fond.

In other words, the more the revival can be about Dexter the character, and the less it can be about the original Dexter series, the more successful it’s likely to be. Distancing itself from the original setting and most of the original characters, therefore, is probably the smartest approach Clyde Phillips could have taken.

America doesn’t have the greatest track record of turning hit British comedies into hit American comedies. Sure, there’s The Office—but there’s also MTV’s The Inbetweeners and the pilot for The Thick of It that never saw the light of day (much to creator Armando Iannucci’s delight). Now, Fox is launching its own adaptation of the BAFTA-winning BBC series This Country, which has been retitled Welcome to Flatch. And if the trailer is any indication, this one might just work.

The official synopsis reads as follows: “When a documentary crew sets out to explore the lives of residents in a small American town—their dreams, their concerns—they stumble upon the midwestern town of Flatch, which is made up of many eccentric personalities. It’s a place you want to visit and maybe even stay. If there was a decent motel. Which there is not. The series stars newcomers Chelsea Holmes and Sam Straley, Seann William Scott (Lethal Weapon, American Pie franchise), Aya Cash (The Boys, You’re The Worst), Taylor Ortega (Succession), and newcomers Krystal Smith and Justin Linville.”

In addition to featuring a talented lineup of comedic actors in front of the camera, there’s a top-notch pedigree behind the scenes. Jenny Bicks, who is known for her work on Sex and the City, serves as the show’s writer and executive producer while Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig will direct and executive produce. Given Feig’s history as a writer and producer on NBC’s The Office, he has a keen understanding of what it takes to adapt the nuances of a very British comedy for U.S. audiences. Here’s hoping he can pull off another win.

You can watch the full trailer for Welcome to Flatch, which will premiere in 2022, above.

Regardless of your preferred news source, you’ve likely seen recent stories about the nationwide worker shortage the service industry is facing. You’ve probably also heard that one of the reasons for this dearth of employees is because the current unemployment benefits are just too gosh darn generous. While the myopic person’s spin on the story is that Americans are lazy and don’t want to work, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah understands that the reality is much different.

On Tuesday, Noah got right to the point when he said that “those unemployment checks are not subsidizing laziness. They’re giving workers the rare opportunity to look for a job that’s more than just a way to survive until their next paycheck.”

Here’s the deal: While the federal minimum wage is a laughable $7.25 per hour, the minimum wage for tipped employees is just a fraction of that—$2.13 per hour. So when you hear a waiter or bartender talk about “relying on tips,” they mean it. But even beyond that paltry hourly wage, many hospitality workers don’t receive the bare minimum of benefits one would expect from a job. Forget health insurance or retirement planning—we’re talking about something as simple as paid sick or vacation days.

Restaurant work can be a thankless job, and the past year has given those workers the chance to look for employment in other sectors (the growing cannabis industry is reportedly seeing an influx of former restaurant employees join their ranks), where they have the opportunity to earn a genuine living that doesn’t have them panicking from check-to-check. As Noah said:

“It makes complete sense that restaurant workers are looking for better jobs, right? Because these are tough jobs. They’re on their feet all day; they take care of everyone; they pretend not to hear when you guys are breaking up at the table. And after all of that, they have to rely on tips. I mean, you know a job isn’t paying enough when every meal ends with a mini-GoFundMe. And aside from giving workers the opportunity to look for jobs that they can actually live on, these unemployment benefits are also giving them leverage to use against their former employers. And it seems like it might actually be working.”

Some restaurant chains, including Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Chipotle, have all reportedly increased their pay rates over the past several months. Employers are also adding in additional benefits, including paid family leave, stock options, 401k matching, and mental health care, in order to entice people back to their jobs.

“The point is, many restaurants are getting workers back by raising wages and offering benefits,” Noah said. “So I guess it turns out when they were saying ‘Nobody wants to work,’ what they actually meant was, ‘Nobody wants to work for the starvation wages that we were willing to pay them.’ And apparently, they were able to afford this the whole time. It just took some pressure from the workers to force their hand.”

Well, that and a pandemic that has so far killed more than 3.4 million people worldwide—and counting.

In late 2020, it was rumored that ASAP Rocky and Rihanna had started dating. Indeed, the two are a happy couple, and in a new GQ profile, Rocky offered an update of how things are going by declaring that she is “the one.”

The piece notes that when Rihanna was mentioned to Rocky, “he starts beaming like a teenager whose crush just accepted his prom invite.” It also notes that Rocky calls her “the love of my life” and “my lady.” Later, he was asked what it’s like to be in a relationship and he responded, “So much better. So much better when you got the One. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. […] I think when you know, you know. She’s the One.”

He also seems open to the prospect of fatherhood, saying, “If that’s in my destiny, absolutely. I think I’m already a dad! All these motherf*ckers are already my sons — whatchu talkin’ ’bout! [laughs] Nah, but like, I think I’d be an incredible, remarkably, overall amazing dad. I would have a very fly child. Very.”

Elsewhere, he spoke about visiting Barbados (from where his father emigrated to the US) with Rihanna, saying it was a moving experience: “It was like a homecoming thing. It was crazy. I always imagined what it would be like for my dad, before he came to America. And I got to visit those places, and believe it or not, there was something nostalgic about it. It was foreign but familiar.”

Read the full GQ feature here.

In the streaming era, documentaries have become more popular than ever, and though plenty of hip-hop and classic rock content has been coming through lately, it’s now time for pop to get its due. At least that’s what Netflix’s latest offering This Is Pop seeks to showcase. The eight-part docuseries brings together artists as disparate as Shania Twain, Babyface, and Abba. Premiering later this summer on June 22, a press release describes the series as seeking to “shine a light on racism, sexism, classism, queer politics and social injustice while also celebrating the levity and joy for which pop music has long been known.”

The series was created by Banger Films, the same team who produced music documentaries like Hip-Hop Evolution, ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, and Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage. “We started with the question “What is Pop?”, and found answers we never expected,” the series Producer Amanda Burt of Banger Films said. “It’s more than the charts or what floats out of a car radio. It’s a perfect time capsule of how people were living as it was made and how they danced, loved, and cried as it was heard.”

Below is a list of the eight episodes, and you can watch a trailer for the series above.

1. “The Boyz II Men Effect”
2. “When Country Goes Pop”
3. “Auto-Tune”
4. “Stockholm Syndrome”
5. “The Brill Building In 4 Songs”
6. “Festival Rising”
7. “Hail Britpop!”
8. “What Can A Song Do?”