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Zendaya says that more episodes of Euphoria are coming a lot sooner than we anticipated. The 2019 smash hit on HBO, which helped earn its lead actress a milestone Emmy award earlier this year, seems to have more episodes on the way before the end of 2020.

The award-winning actress shared on social media that two new episodes are on the way, and she shared a cryptic image to Instagram that looks like a reflection of her character in the blue eyes of another person.

“We really missed them. Two special Euphoria episodes coming soon. First one December 6th on @hbo,” Zendaya shared.

The “them” is perhaps a reference to Zendaya’s Rue and Hunter Schafer’s Jules Vaughn, the two main characters of the show. But details about what actually are coming in early December, or whether these two episodes are the start of a new full season or a pandemic-created interlude of sorts, were initially scarce.

HBO later shared a press release with more details about the first of the two special episodes, which were shot amid the pandemic.

In the aftermath of being left by Jules at the train station and relapsing, the first special episode follows Rue (played by Emmy®-winner Zendaya) as she celebrates Christmas. Written and directed by series creator Sam Levinson, the episode, titled “Trouble Don’t Last Always,” also stars Colman Domingo, who appeared in season one. The title and date of the second episode are forthcoming. Both special episodes were produced under COVID-19 guidelines.

Regardless, it’s sure to be exciting news for the show’s legion of fans, who either identified with or were transfixed by Rue’s ups and downs when it came to drug addiction, young love and just generally trying to survive Sam Levinson’s take on modern high school life. Hopefully, the announcement means a trailer of some sort is on the way soon, but we do know we’ll see Zendaya and Schafer back a lot sooner than many anticipated.

When it comes to the topic of race, we all have questions. And sometimes, it honestly can be embarrassing to ask perfectly well-intentioned questions lest someone accuse you of being ignorant, or worse, racist, for simply admitting you don’t know the answer.

America has a complicated history with race. For as long as we’ve been a country, our culture, politics and commerce have been structured in a way to deny our nation’s past crimes, minimize the structural and systemic racism that still exists and make the entire discussion one that most people would rather simply not have.

For example, have you ever wondered what’s really behind the term Black Pride? Is it an uplifting phrase for the Black community or a divisive term? Most people instinctively put the term “White Pride” in a negative context. Is there such a thing as non-racist, racial pride for white people? And while we’re at it, what about Asian people, Native Americans, and so on?

Yes, a lot of people raise these questions with bad intent. But if you’ve ever genuinely wanted an answer, either for yourself or so that you best know how to handle the question when talking to someone with racist views, writer/director Michael McWhorter put together a short, simple and irrefutable video clip explaining why “White Pride” isn’t a real thing, why “Black Pride” is and all the little details in between.

“I knew this question was coming and I waited until someone asked nicely to respond,” McWhorter says at the beginning of his video. “So, no, there’s no such thing as ‘White Pride.’ In part, because there is no white culture.”

Now, “hold on,” you might be thinking. Is this another try-hard white guy attacking fellow white people to appear woke? No, what McWhorter says next is one of the most insightful, and inclusive, explanations for anyone who is white, or really anyone who isn’t Black, and might be wondering how they can identify with their own cultural heritage in a constructive and meaningful way. Also, as a Southern, white man, McWhortner might be just the perfect messenger for those who have been unable or unwilling to answer the question on their own.

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“You can have pride based on your ethnicity, like Scottish, German, Irish,” he says. “You can even have regional pride, like Southern Pride. These things usually apply to your cultural identity, like how you grew up, etc.”

OK, hard to argue with that. And a handy explanation for how to positively celebrate your culture as a white person. But what about those who still want to generally “take back” the idea of White Pride or who attack the concept/origins of Black Pride?

“Some people argue, ‘well, others have pride.’ And no, they don’t,” he continues. Chicano, Latino pride, Asian pride, those are not colors. The one exception is Black pride. And that’s because they’ve had a unique experience no one else has. Black Americans were robbed of their culture. They don’t know where they come from.”

McWhorter goes on to explain the basics of the African-American diaspora and how it is different than other cultural heritages or even legacies of racism that other ethic or religious groups have experienced.

And if someone still needs an explanation of why the term itself is unnecessary, problematic and makes almost everyone more than a little uncomfortable, McWhorter reminds us simply that, “White Pride was coined by white supremacists.”

So, there you have it. It’s perfectly OK to celebrate your heritage without being a racist. And Black pride is an inclusive, uplifting term used to help people whose ancestor had their freedom and their heritage itself stolen from them. It’s not that complicated!

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are set to meet in a rematch of their 2014 fight that saw McGregor win by way of a first round knockout, with both fighters agreeing in principle to the January 23 date but with contracts still needing to be finalized and signed — which means it is not exactly a 100 percent certainty the fight happens.

If they do get pens to paper, the bout could be for No. 1 contender status in the lightweight division, with the winner in line for a shot at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s belt. However, given that McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh noted he’d like to see them fight at 170 pounds rather than 155 pounds, there are some concerns from Khabib’s camp about such a fight serving as a battle for the top contender at 155 pounds.

Khabib spoke with SportsCentre on TSN on Monday as he gets ready for his title fight with Justin Gaethje this coming Saturday, and reaffirmed that he will consider whomever comes out on top of Poirier’s next bout the top contender, provided they fight at 155 pounds.

This makes complete and total sense, as if you are wondering who is the best at 155 pounds you should, well, probably fight at 155 pounds and not 170. That said, it wouldn’t be the fight game if there wasn’t some silly controversy and what’s more ridiculous than judging the best fighter at 155 pounds based off how they fare while 15 pounds heavier.

The biggest point of contention is that, if McGregor wants to fight at 170 then he should fight at 170. To say they should see who’s best when fully hydrated is certainly a valid point from Kavanagh, as weight-cutting remains an issue in combat sports, but if it’s a concern that McGregor wouldn’t be at his best at 155 then maybe he shouldn’t be gunning for contendership at that weight.

Billie Eilish’s shoes gave fans a flashback to the 2015 viral photo of a dress which the internet couldn’t decide if it was blue and black or pink and white. During a recent Q&A session on her Instagram Stories, the singer gave her own version of the optical illusion — this time involving sneakers.

Fielding a variety of questions from fans about her music and personal life, Eilish was asked about the original 2015 meme and urged to give her opinion on the colors she saw. Taking things one step further, the singer revealed she was in a similar situation recently after she showed off a pair of her sneakers to her father. Eilish’s father apparently incorrectly saw her Uptempo Nike sneakers as pink and white, when they are supposed to be mint green and white.

Many of Eilish’s followers said they also saw pink and white, and Eilish wasn’t having it. “So listen. You guys are all my f*cking dad,” she said.

Still, several of Eilish’s followers weren’t convinced and a debate ensued over the proper color of the shoes.

After seeing the arguments, Eilish attempted to settle the debate once and for all and leaned on Google to provide a final answer.

Check out photos of Eilish’s sneakers above.

By now, you’ve probably seen the viral footage of NBA pros Rudy Gobert and Vincent Poirier playing 2-on-2 with Nanterre’s Maxime Reynaud and Victor Wembanyama. If not, enjoy this clip of a very tall teen pulling up over one of the best defensive big men on earth.

It’s a fun little video, with Gobert hitting threes and generally seeming to have fun with the next generation of French big men. What you also noticed in that tweet are the words “arguably the best prospect in the world” in reference to Wembanyama. This isn’t just a fun video of a couple of NBA players having fun during the offseason with their fellow countrymen, it’s the present running headlong into the future and being scarcely capable of comprehending what it is they’re seeing.

Wembanyama is 16 years old (he turns 17 in January) and stands at least 7’2 already. Here he is next to Gobert, listed at 7’1, where he is obviously quite a bit taller.

You look at that footage, along with basically any other clip of his game, and Wembanyama’s skill level for a 16 year old big man is beyond anything we’ve seen before. He’s the closest thing to a 99 overall MyPlayer on NBA 2K that we have on earth right now, and he’s utterly dominated everywhere he’s been thus far.

Even being on this Nanterre team at all is an incredible accomplishment for someone who legally cannot drive a car in France yet. Nanterre plays in the Pro A, the same league that Gobert himself once played in and the league that has produced NBA players like Tony Parker, Evan Fournier, Boris Diaw, Nic Batum, Frank Ntilikina, and Ronny Turiaf. He’s the second-youngest player to ever compete in Eurocup, the second-largest European continental club basketball competition.

At the Under-18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Kaunas this past February, Wembanyama dropped Per 36s of 20.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, and truly staggering defensive numbers — 7.6 blocks and 3.5 steals. He did this a month and a half after turning 16, against players that were up to two and half years older than him. His game log included a 22-point, 15-rebound, 9-block game against Zaragoza. I shouldn’t have to say this, but one of the first and best barometers for a prospect’s ability is dominating their peers, and the argument exists that Wembanyama has been dominating his peers for almost two years now.

So what kind of player is he, really? He’s not the most physical youngster on earth, but his basketball IQ and ability to make reads on defense is perhaps second only to Yannick Nzosa among all under-18 players alive right now. His wingspan, estimated at around eight feet, allows him to recover even when he makes mistakes and grab every possible rebound. Most frightening is Wembanyama’s coordination and ability to put the ball on the floor and shoot off dribble. There are stretch bigs in the NBA right now, some of them 7 feet or taller, who cannot shoot and handle the ball like Wembanyama can. A player like Lauri Markkanen’s entire value is based around being able to shoot off movement at his size, and even he cannot hope to hit shots like Wembanyama can.

Perhaps most enticingly, he seems to have terrific vision as a passer, he just hasn’t played anywhere that utilizes him as one.

Really, the only knock on Victor right now is his frame. A 7’2 (or more!), 195 pound basketball player is just not tenable. He’s only 16, though, which means he’ll probably put on at least another 30 or 40 pounds before he’s physically matured, like you or I did. Besides, by this point, I think we’ve learned to not let thin arms dissuade us from an otherwise flawless prospect — remember when Texas’ can’t-miss forward Kevin Durant couldn’t bench press 185 pounds at the combine, or frail Kentucky standout Anthony Davis was going to injure himself out of the NBA?

That is what Victor Wembanyama is — so far beyond his peers that only the brightest stars in the basketball universe can compare to him. He is a complete and utter phenom who is plying his trade against grown, adult men and still standing out. With all due respect to Emoni Bates, A.J. Griffin, Dajuan Wagner Jr., and everyone else, he is the most promising basketball prospect alive. All we can do now is wait, although rest assured, we’ll be marveling about his game whenever he steps on the floor for the next few years.

While the main character of the Internet on Monday was either a woman with an extremely Boston accent or an indecent exposure incident over Zoom, the main character in Donald Trump’s world was definitely Anthony Fauci. Trump woke up angry at Fauci on Monday after a 60 Minutes interview appearance on Sunday night, and so he spent his day of campaigning attacking a man who has preached vigilance and safety during a pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans this year.

Trump mentioned Fauci, an immunologist who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, a number of times on Monday and introduced a new ad attacking Joe Biden as someone who would, well, listen to one of the top medical officials in America if he were elected president. Which Biden seems OK with, quite frankly.

It started with a phone call in which reporters heard him criticize Fauci and his understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Later, there were a series of tweets on Monday where Trump used a bizarrely dated reference to Bob Hope to criticize how often Fauci is on TV.

“Fauci says we don’t allow him to do television, and yet I saw him last night on @60Minutes,” Trump tweeted. “He seems to get more airtime than anybody since the late, great, Bob Hope.”

Trump, who is doing three rallies a day like a high school football player trying to catch up after a late August family vacation, mentioned Fauci and his less-than-ideal first pitch before a Washington Nationals game earlier in the summer several times on Monday. He also mocked him with his own version of the throw in Arizona.

It’s important to note that Trump — who was booed the last time he showed up to a baseball stadium with fans in it — did not throw out a first pitch this year. He threatened to do so at a Yankees/Red Sox game after word came out that Fauci would throw one out this year. After his pitch, well, didn’t go so well, Trump abruptly canceled and it was later learned that Trump announced his pitch before anyone at the Yankees organization confirmed it.

With two weeks left before the election, it seems that Trump has decided his closing argument to voters is that Fauci hasn’t done his job as well as he should. That election, however, will be a clear indicator of how Americans think Trump has done his job, not Fauci.

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Unsolved Mysteries: Vol 2. (Netflix series) — Following a successful summer revival, the second batch of cold-case deep dives are here to spook the hell out of you. We ranked the six episodes — which include a mysterious death in a luxury hotel, the disappearance and murder of a Washington insider, and a mass haunting following a tsunami — that invite citizen detectives to do their thing. This reinvigorated take on the classic series comes from the original creators (Cosgrove/Meurer Productions), who teamed up with the Stranger Things production company (21 Laps Entertainment), and hopefully, some justice and closure can be found for victims’ families.

The Third Day (HBO, 9:00pm EST) — The Jude Law and Naomie Harris-starring series sees Helen dodge the power struggle when she finally finds what she’s been searching for on the island. Meanwhile, Tallulah stumbles upon an act of violence, and Ellie discovers one of her mother’s secrets.

We Are Who We Are (HBO, 10:00pm EST) — Sarah’s happy that Fraser finally has a strong male influence, but Maggie simply doesn’t understand. This show is Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino’s first stab at a TV series, and it will appeal to the Euphoria audience while they await Season 2.

Manhunt: Deadly Games (CBS, 10:00pm EST) — The FBI’s in hot pursuit of serial bomber Eric Randolph, all while Richard Jewell and Watson find evidence that could finally exonerate the wrongfully accused Richard following fallout from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

In case you missed these selections from over the weekend:

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon — Gwen Stefani, Swizz Beatz & Timbaland, Bebe Rexha ft. Doja Cat

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Ego Nwodim

After making his directorial debut with A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper is keeping it musical with his next project, Maestro, which focuses on the life of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. With Cooper attached to play Bernstein and Carey Mulligan signed on as his wife Felicia Montealegre, the Netflix film just added another acting heavyweight: Succession‘s Jeremy Strong. The actor is wrapping up negotiations to play biographer John Gruen who chronicled Bernstein’s life in The Private World of Leonard Bernstein. Via Deadline:

The drama spans over 30 years. Bernstein’s career is enough to fill a miniseries: his conducting debut at the New York Philharmonic at 25 when the conductor took ill; without even rehearsing, Bernstein did so well his star was launched the next day when his feat made the front page of the New York Times. He was blacklisted before being cleared of being a communist just before he composed the Oscar-nominated score for On the Waterfront; and he was an activist in the civil rights movement, and outspoken on issues including ending the Vietnam War. But the through line for the movie is the beautifully complex story of the marriage between Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre.

Maestro will be Strong’s second Netflix film. The actor can be seen as Jerry Rubin in the just released The Trial of the Chicago 7. In a recent interview, Strong revealed that his dedication to method acting led him to pranking his cast mates with a fart machine during the long and tense courtroom scenes. Although, he admits that it got some great results from Frank Langella.

“His face turned red,” Strong told Vulture. “Those are the takes we used in the film. It was great — there was real, palpable tension in the room when that happened.”

(Via Deadline)

As the once-celebrated Information Age devolves into the hell-hole-ish Misinformation Age, many of us feel a desperate sense of despair. It’s one thing to have diverse perspectives on issues; it’s entirely another to have millions of people living in an alternate reality where up is down, left is right, and a global pandemic is a global hoax put on by a powerful cabal of Satanic, baby-eating, pedophile elites.

Watching a not-insignificant portion of your country fall prey to false—and sometimes flat out bonkers—narratives is disconcerting. Watching politicians and spokespeople spout those narratives on national television is downright terrifying.

Clearly, the U.S. is not the only country with politicians who pander to conspiracy theorists for their own gain, but not every country lets them get away with it. In a now-viral interview, New Zealand’s Tova O’Brien spoke with one her country’s fringe political party leaders and showed journalists exactly how to handle a misinformation peddler.

Her guest was Jami-Lee Ross, leader of the Advance New Zealand party, which failed to garner enough votes in the country’s general election this weekend to enter parliament. The party, which got less than one percent of the vote, had spread misinformation about the coronavirus on social media, and Ross’s co-leader, Billy Te Kahika, is a known conspiracy theorist.

But O’Brien came prepared to shut down that nonsense.

First, she asked if Ross had any regrets about his time in politics, and when he gave a typical politician answer, she didn’t let it slide. “Do you want to have another crack at answering that?” she responded, “Because I asked you if you have any regrets. You’ve just been part of the political movement which has been peddling misinformation during the election campaign. Do you have any regrets?”

And the whole interview went on like that, with O’Brien not letting Ross to get away with skirting direct questions about the role he played in spreading misinformation.

When he said he had joined forces with Te Kahika because he’d seen a lot of growth on social media, O’Brien said, “So you sold your soul for political ambition.” Ouch.

When he tried to say that he himself hadn’t pushed the “Plandemic” idea even though his co-leader had, she responded,”You know exactly what you were doing; you were whipping up fear and hysteria among vulnerable communities.”

When Ross started trying to equate COVID-19 mortality rates with the flu, O’Brien interrupted him: “No, no, I do not want to hear any of that rubbish,” she said. “If you’re going to come on the show and say things which are just factually incorrect, I can’t do that, actually.” Then she moved on to her next question.

Yes. Yes. Yes. That’s how it’s done.

For his part, Ross stayed calm and cool—almost disturbingly so—during the interview, while also giving typical politician answers to O’Brien’s questions.

Some may say that O’Brien was too hard on Ross, that her role is to be a neutral presence in a news interview. But a journalist’s job is not to give equal weight to every voice; it’s to inform the public with factual information and to be an accountability check for those in power. And when more and more people can’t seem to tell the difference between fact and fiction, it’s all the more important to shut down b.s. as soon as the smell of it hits, not when it’s already been smeared in people’s faces.

Perhaps it should give Americans some comfort that even New Zealand—whose leaders acted swiftly, listened to its public health experts, rallied the nation in a unified effort, and managed to nearly eradicate the coronavirus—has kooks who push the “Plandemic” idea. Perhaps. (As a reminder, New Zealand has seen only 25 deaths and has just 37 active COVID cases in the entire nation of 4.9 million people. Their COVID death rate per million people is 135 times lower than the U.S. The nation has been hailed as an examples of how a clear, decisive response in the beginning makes a huge difference in controlling an infectious disease outbreak.)

If nothing else, this interview should give American journalists some inspiration for how to handle spin doctors who use “alternative facts” to push their political points. Some interviewers have finally started pushing back harder on misinformation here, but Ms. O’Brien’s interview truly was a masterclass in how it’s done.

Horror, as a genre, is killing the game. From Get Out to Us, Ready or Not, Midsommar, It Follows, and more, horror is finding new audiences in increasingly inventive ways, and it’s pairing those expected chills and thrills with incredibly important storytelling.

That’s why Obsessed hosts and resident cultural gurus Britt Ellis and Taylour Chanel are letting us into their personal nightmare landscapes to talk about all of the terrifying movies and TV shows they can’t get enough of… just in case you need a bit of help getting into the Halloween spirit. But don’t expect many Freddy Krueger recs or slasher binge-guides. No, horror movies are operating on a different level these days, taking timely events and real-world issues and putting them under a hair-raising lens.

For Britt, Midsommar’s the perfect example of that — a relationship drama that drops in just enough occult weirdness to creep you out. For Taylour, it’s films like Sorry To Bother You, thrillers that mask their true monsters until we’ve let our guard down. And after both women trade their must-watch horror favorites they sit down with Dear White People star Elle Lorraine to talk about her upcoming satirical horror saga, Bad Hair, coming to Hulu on October 23rd.

Whether it’s the genre-bending work of a show like Lovecraft Country that shines a harsh spotlight on the real monsters and horrors of history along with magic, mysticism, and impactful horror tropes, or the aforementioned Bad Hair, which takes an everyday ritual like getting a weave and turns the cringe-level up a notch (or 50), it’s never been a better time to be a horror fan.

Check out the video above for more.