It is somewhat ironic that a science fiction writer is critical of Netflix​​​​​​‘s hit Black Mirror. This is probably even more so now, since many of the ideas presented in the series were once considered speculative, but they no longer seem so. The series has shown several times in the past that the world we could live in in only a few years will have a lot of the same conveniences, connections, and controls, but they will be a little different, which is definitely unsettling but also somewhat familiar; you could hardly believe it to be true.

This is part of what makes the comments from Andy Weir, the acclaimed sci-fi author, that much more relevant. While promoting the movie adapted from his book, Project Hail Mary, Weir dismissed the show as broadly anti-technology — a take that, on the surface, makes sense given how often Black Mirror leans dark. But it’s also a reading that flattens the show into something simpler than it is, missing the idea it keeps returning to: the problem is what people do with the technology that is in their hands.

‘Black Mirror’ Has Never Been About Technology Alone

Image via Netflix

In the “Andy Weir on the Economics of Sci-Fi and Space” episode of Conversations with Tyler, Weir spoke about his opinions on the hit Netflix series, saying, “There is sort of a technophobia out there, and I don’t buy into it,” he said. “I feel like technology generally makes things better. It’s also why I really don’t like the show Black Mirror, because it’s pretty much all about how technology is awful and will ruin the universe.”

One of the stranger things about the conversation surrounding Black Mirror is how often it ignores what Charlie Brooker has been saying for years. Brooker has gone out of his way, repeatedly, to clarify that the show isn’t interested in painting technology as some inherently corrupting force. If anything, he’s pushed back against that interpretation with a kind of low-level exasperation.

What the series actually returns to, over and over again, is the way human behavior mutates when new tools enter the picture. The technology in these episodes rarely breaks into the traditional sci-fi sense; it works — often perfectly — which makes the outcomes all the more unsettling. The systems perform exactly as they were designed to; however, the way people use them complicates everything.

We see a small, almost unremarkable choice that has a snowball effect. To make a decision based on hardship, to justify making a compromise as harmless, to be curious about something, and end up being obsessed with it. All these impulses have been around for a long time, and the show does not purport to be the first time they have happened. The show simply removes the impediments to keep them at bay.

Why the ‘Anti-Tech’ Reading Keeps Sticking

Image via Nick Wall/Netflix

Weir is not the first person to think this way about technology, as there has been a long history of science fiction portraying technological developments with suspicion or, at times, even hostility. Black Mirror uses this language — using images of sleek technology, systems that invade privacy, and worlds that feel just slightly off. At first glance, this is enough to categorize Black Mirror under the same definition. However, classifying the show in this way does a disservice to what Black Mirror attempts to present; it also assumes an either/or relationship between technology being good and technology being bad, and, from the show’s perspective, both are insufficient.

Instead, Black Mirror sits in the gray area of convenience changing values. Further, the series often uses examples from the viewer’s daily life that cause discomfort through the trade-offs we make: exchanging privacy for convenience; exchanging authenticity for validation; and exchanging being present for always needing to be connected, but connected only through technological mediation. It doesn’t say these choices are right or wrong. Instead, it illustrates the logical, and at times brutal, consequences of these choices.

Strip away the speculative elements — the implants, the algorithms, the near-future gloss — and what’s left is something much more grounded. Black Mirror is, at its core, a series about people navigating situations that force them to choose between competing values, with no clean way out.

The majority of people do not make good choices, and this is where this show has built its reputation for being bleak, though this may not be entirely true to label it as such. The series itself does not believe people are doomed, but rather that they cannot find an easy path to redemption. Rather than being destroyed by machines, characters are destroyed by human impulses such as jealousy, insecurity, the need for visibility, and the fear of abandonment.

In this scenario, tech will work more as an amplifier, rather than as a devourer. Therefore, when you give flawed individuals more power, greater access to resources, and far more information, their flaws will not disappear; they will expand, sharpen, and ultimately become harder to ignore.

‘Black Mirror’ is Misunderstood, and Probably Always Will Be

Image via Netflix

The title has always been the quiet clue. The “black mirror” isn’t some abstract concept — it’s the screen itself, the one sitting in your pocket or glowing on your desk, reflecting your face back at you when it goes dark, and that idea runs through the entire series. Technology doesn’t create new versions of us; it reflects what’s already there, sometimes in ways that are difficult to look at for too long. The discomfort comes from recognition, which is why the show resists framing its worlds as fully dystopian; many of its settings are functional, even prosperous. Life goes on, systems hold, and the larger world doesn’t collapse just because an individual story ends badly. That, in its own way, is more unsettling than any apocalyptic scenario.

Part of the issue is cultural shorthand. “That’s so Black Mirror,” or any similar derivative, has become a catch-all for anything vaguely unsettling involving technology, a phrase that flattens the show into a mood rather than an idea. Over time, that shorthand has hardened into an assumption, and naturally, Weir’s critique lands in that same space. It’s not entirely off-base — the series can be dark, even cynical — but it stops short of engaging with what the show is actually probing. It treats technology as the subject when it’s really just the lens, and maybe that’s inevitable. It’s easier to argue with a story about evil machines than one that keeps circling back to human behavior, asking uncomfortable questions without offering much in the way of reassurance.

In the end, Black Mirror isn’t especially interested in whether technology makes things better or worse; that debate feels almost beside the point. What it keeps returning to is something more difficult to pin down: what we choose to do when the tools at our disposal make those choices easier, faster, and harder to walk back.

The 1980s ended a long time ago, but the movies released during that decade remain. And you can watch them end again and again, unlike the decade itself, because you had to be there to see/experience that ending. Movie endings are much easier to talk about, in any event, and are also probably easier to talk about than the ending of a period of time spanning 10 years.

These 1980s movies have some of the best endings of that decade, with some being uplifting, others being memorably soul-crushing, and then the rest falling somewhere in between (most importantly, falling in between effectively). There will be unavoidable spoilers here, but when you’re talking about movies that are between about 37 and 46 years old, the act of spoiling doesn’t feel like quite so much a writing-related crime.

10

‘Stand by Me’ (1986)

Image via Columbia Pictures

If a crowd-pleaser is something that would genuinely prove engaging to anyone who watches it, then Stand by Me would have to qualify, even if it’s not really exciting or action-packed the way more typical blockbuster-scale crowd-pleasers are. See, Stand by Me is very sad, and on the more serious side of things as far as coming-of-age movies go, but it does conclude in a way that feels bittersweet.

Maybe it’s more bitter than sweet, but to add a maybe to that maybe, maybe that’s why it works as well as it does. The central character, a writer in his adulthood (like so many Stephen King characters who grow beyond childhood), reflects that he has never had – and will never have – friends like the ones he did when he was 12. He’s clearly thankful for the time he had with them, but sad they all drifted apart, and devastated that one of them died while still quite young. But he has his memories and a son of his own, so there’s a little by way of sweet to wash down all the bitter.

9

‘Brazil’ (1985)

Image via Universal Pictures

Not much bittersweetness to be found here, because Brazil is nothing but heavy-going, with the ending being especially downbeat. Okay, it is a sometimes entertaining movie, because it’s a dark comedy on top of being a dystopian film, but the humor is exceptionally dark, the whole feel of the movie is nightmarish, and lots of it attempts to be disorientating and ultimately very trippy.

It succeeds at all those things, so calling Brazil a chaotic watch would be a pretty big understatement. The protagonist here, a man named Sam Lowry, has more and more of his life fall apart as the movie goes along, and then eventually, he collapses psychologically, and is no longer able to tell reality from fantasy. Maybe his brain breaking at the very end is almost merciful, considering the hellish time he’d had in the film up until that point, but it’s still very much a miserable and nihilistic ending.

8

‘Ran’ (1985)

On the topic of heavy-going movies that came out in 1985, here’s Ran, which rivals Seven Samurai for the crown of “all-time best Akira Kurosawa film,” if you’re feeling ambitious enough to pick just one movie. With Ran, the story here is about an aging warlord who has three sons who all want to be his successor, and once he reveals his plans regarding his succession, things fall apart rather spectacularly.

Basically, a family conflict explodes into all-out war, and by the end of it, just about everyone’s either dead or in a very perilous situation where death is almost imminent (like a blind character alone and lost on top of a cliff; literally the last place the audience sees him). No one wins in Ran, and the futility of the way it all wraps up contributes quite significantly to the film being an overall masterpiece.

7

‘Scarface’ (1983)

Image via Universal Pictures

Full disclosure: this article was done, and The Thing was originally on here, but then the very silly writer was looking over the article before scheduling it, and realized he’d forgotten to put Scarface in the ranking. And that seemed like too big an oversight to just let slide, and so even though a decent amount of time was spent thinking and writing about The Thing’s ending, and why it worked so well as something that kept the paranoia going long after the movie was over, it had to go. The ending was just not as cool as Scarface’s.

You could argue it’s overblown and too simplistic, but seeing the fall hit this hard in a rise-and-fall gangster story is just glorious. Tony Montana doesn’t go down without a fight, and he does indeed die like he lived: ridiculously, violently, profanely, and explosively. It’s a great payoff to a great movie, and really, it elevates the whole movie from (already) great to genuine all-timer status.

6

‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988)

Image via Universal Pictures

It says quite a lot that The Last Temptation of Christ is one of Martin Scorsese’s most ambitious movies, since the filmmaker has made his fair share of epics. You might find the casting a little surprising, and the film also has a reputation for being controversial, but those things shouldn’t put you off watching The Last Temptation of Christ, and nor should the fact that it’s a religious movie (should you be a non-religious person).

The Last Temptation of Christ is best described as an alternate depiction of some events in the Gospels, reframed in a way that makes it function as a psychological drama about Jesus Christ. The most controversial scenes were part of the temptation the title alludes to, but he does resist, and it’s cathartic when he does, at the film’s end. His ultimate sacrifice feels arguably more meaningful, from a certain point of view, with this approach, even if humanizing Jesus in this way did count as blasphemy in the eyes of some.

5

‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984)

Image via Warner Bros.

Describing what kind of movie Once Upon a Time in America is before laying out how it ends might make the whole thing sound super anticlimactic and disappointing, but it really does all work in execution. It’s an epic gangster movie that unfolds in non-chronological order, and has an aging criminal reflecting on both his childhood and adult life, all the while struggling with a lack of closure regarding some aspects of his past in old age.

It’s something of a tragedy, but not one where you feel sorry for the characters, because they do some reprehensible things (okay, lots of classical tragedies are like that, but still). Once Upon a Time in America has a downfall of sorts for its central character, too, but not in the way old-school gangster movies had them. Things get weird and dreamy, not to mention ambiguous (and more so than the ending for the aforementioned The Thing), and yet what seems like a lack of sense kind of makes sense, once you sit with it for a while and give the whole thing some more thought.

4

‘The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover’ (1989)

Image via Palace Pictures

At its core, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a straightforward movie about a cycle of violence and revenge that involves the four titular characters (with the cook having the most passive role in the film). The style here, and the approach toward telling that story, on the other hand? All that makes it feel very much distinct from your average revenge movie, it has to be pointed out.

Still, when it wraps up, there is a certain amount of catharsis that comes with seeing the thief’s comeuppance, especially because he’s been a particularly heinous monster to everyone – but most of all, his wife – throughout the entire film. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover delivers catharsis while also being absolutely confronting and kind of nauseating, all in ways best experienced/discovered on one’s own, should your stomach be up to the task.

3

‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)

Image via 20th Century Studios

It would be weird to talk about great endings found in movies from the 1980s without a mention of the second Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back. Okay, yeah, it’s Episode V if you want to watch them in chronological order, but it was the second one made overall. And maybe it’s better to watch them in order of release, because the biggest and most famous surprise regarding the ending of The Empire Strikes Back gets ruined otherwise.

But then again, it’s also common knowledge at this point about who Darth Vader really is. And also, it’s really just one part of the overall ending here, which feels satisfying even while leaving so much up in the air. There’s an emotional resolution or at least an emotional release here, even if all the different narrative threads still have to be wrapped up, and it’s a wonder it all works so well without feeling too depressing or ambiguous in a detrimental/disappointing way.

Image via Universal Pictures

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ends in the way it has to: E.T., the titular alien, does indeed achieve his goal of “phoning home” and then getting picked up by his fellow aliens (the ones who accidentally left him on Earth at the start). He does it with a little help from his friend, Elliott, but then the two inevitably have to bid each other farewell once the overall goal has been achieved.

So you know it’s coming, but it’s still surprisingly hard-hitting when it happens. If it’s a bittersweet ending, then it’s one that’s probably a little more sweet than bitter, because it is ultimately a moment of triumph. It’s just a testament to the quality of the overall movie, then, that watching such a goodbye, no matter how much it “had” to happen, ends up feeling the way it does.

1

‘Cinema Paradiso’ (1988)

Image via Titanus

Like Stand by Me, Cinema Paradiso is a coming-of-age movie that both begins and ends with the central character as an adult reflecting on his childhood, and maybe it is an easy way to make such a movie emotional, but both films pull it off well regardless. With Cinema Paradiso, there is more time spent with the protagonist as an adult, and part of his journey throughout the film does also involve his life as a teenager (so it’s a little more sprawling overall).

Cinema Paradiso ends with a meaningful gift being left to the protagonist, Salvatore, by the film projectionist who served as his father figure, and it drives home the idea that the whole movie is a love letter to cinema in more ways than one. It involves a montage that makes Salvatore break down crying, but crying happy tears, and that’s probably what most viewers of Cinema Paradiso will find themselves doing at the exact same time, too.

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Cinema Paradiso

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Release Date

February 23, 1990

Runtime

174 Minutes

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Director

Giuseppe Tornatore

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Writers

Giuseppe Tornatore, Vanna Paoli

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• 
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  Enzo Cannavale

  Spaccafico

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  Antonella Attili

  Maria Di Vita – Younger

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 20 seconds ago

Who do you think the most beloved character in Star Trek is? Some would go with famous figures like Kirk or Spock, while others might say Picard or Janeway. Younger fans might even go with Mariner, the firebrand lead character on Lower Decks. For many of us older fans, though, the most beloved character is Quark, the affable Ferengi bartender on Deep Space Nine.

Quark is an ultracapitalist surrounded by socialist Federation types, and his banter with characters completely different from himself is a big part of what makes DS9 so popular. This bartender rarely goes into battle, but he still finds himself in all kinds of painful trouble. Of course, things could always have been worse. One unfilmed scene from the episode “Melora” would have had Quark tortured by the same alien eels used to torture people by Khan Noonien Singh, the greatest villain in all of Star Trek!

All Quarked Up

How the heck did Quark nearly end up on the receiving end of an alien eel attack? It all goes back to “Melora,” a Season 2 DS9 episode involving Dr. Bashir falling in love with a woman who can’t easily navigate the Earth-like gravity of the station. Meanwhile, the episode’s B plot involves a menacing alien shaking Quark down over past debts.

The first draft of “Melora” was written by Evan Carlos Somers, a former intern who pitched the episode. Since Somers uses a wheelchair, he hoped to bring some authenticity to the titular Melora, someone who must navigate DS9 using a wheelchair. While the writer turned in a solid draft, the script ultimately needed retuning. Several writers (including then-showrunner Michael Piller) tweaked the script, resulting in the episode you see onscreen. Among other things, they removed a plot point from Somers where Quark’s nemesis (a man named Fallit Kot) would have tortured the Ferengi using eels from Ceti Alpha V.

Hear No Evil

According to The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine, Somers wanted to portray the villain “psychologically toying with Quark, terrifying him” and eventually killing Quark “by using the Ceti eels introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but this variety didn’t cause mental vulnerability for mind control.” After making all these elaborate plans for the Ferengi’s torture, he was disappointed that “Fallit Kot just strangles Quark” in the aired episode, a threat which was “not quite titanic enough.” 

In retrospect, I’d have to agree. Certainly, an elaborate torture sequence is going to be more tense and exciting than a plain, old strangulation. If nothing else, this scene would have cemented what a creepy threat those Ceti Alpha V eels really were. Sadly, the last time they were mentioned in canon was in Star Trek: Discovery, where an Orion outpost was selling them as a tasty treat on the Klingon homeworld!

As a huge fan of Deep Space Nine, I would have loved to see a major homage to The Wrath of Khan so early in the show’s run. Instead, we’d have to wait several more years until “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” revealed that the titular physician had received Khan-like genetic augmentation. As for Quark, he completed the show’s run without getting threatened by any more creepy eels. That might be for the best, though. Knowing the opportunistic Ferengi, he’d probably just end up serving them to his customers with a healthy heaping of yamok sauce!

By Robert Scucci
| Published 33 seconds ago

2016’s Dirty Grandpa might actually be the worst attempt at comedy I’ve ever seen, but not for the reasons you’d think. A decent amount of jokes here land in the typical raunchy comedy fashion. Most of the humor hinges on Robert De Niro acting completely out of pocket in a way that would make your boomer parents gasp and say, “I can’t believe the things that are coming out of his mouth!”

De Niro fully commits to Dirty Grandpa’s ridiculous premise. He goes above and beyond. So does Zac Efron. So does Zoey Deutch. So does Aubrey Plaza. So does Jason Mantzoukas. Are you seeing a pattern here? Because it’s the pattern that prevents Dirty Grandpa from being a successful comedy. Everybody is funny, or at the very least trying to be funny at all times. When everything is funny, nothing is.

There’s Not A Single Straight Player In Dirty Grandpa

While I can’t say I was ever truly offended by what happens in Dirty Grandpa, bearing witness to Robert De Niro’s bare dong brushing against Zac Efron’s face wasn’t exactly welcome. I’m sure it was a prosthetic, a stunt wiener if you will, but I digress. I could have done without it, but they’re clearly going for shock value, so I can’t really fault a film for doing what it sets out to do.

The problem with Dirty Grandpa is that there’s not a single person playing it straight. In order for comedy like this to land, you need that balance or it just doesn’t work.

Here’s the plot. Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Kelly (Robert De Niro) loses his wife, leaving him widowed. He promised her he’d live life to the fullest if she passed before him, and he sets out to do just that in the most extreme way possible. No sooner than her body is buried, Dick goes on an angry poon hunt, dragging his soon-to-be-married grandson Jason (Zac Efron) along as his wingman on a trip to Boca Raton, Florida.

Jason has his reservations because he has wedding obligations of his own. His fiancée, Meredith (Julianne Hough), pretty much has him whipped, and this last-minute trip with his grandfather doesn’t sit well with her. Not knowing the full extent of Dick’s depraved desires, she lets it happen but keeps constant tabs on Jason to make sure he doesn’t step out of line.

Spoiler alert: Jason, and Dick, step out of line.

They meet a group of college kids: Jason’s former classmate and crush Shadia (Zoey Deutch), along with her spring break friends, the oversexed Lenore (Aubrey Plaza) and token gay tagalong Bradley (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman). They plan to reconnect later when Dick learns about Lenore’s fantasy of sleeping with an older man. This works out perfectly for Dick, who, by his estimation, hasn’t gotten laid in nearly 20 years.

Sex, Drugs, And The Forbidden Karaoke 

No matter where they go in Dirty Grandpa, they’re always within arm’s reach of Pam (Jason Mantzoukas), a local drug dealer who shows up to get everybody wasted. Jason accidentally vapes crack. Lenore aggressively hits on Dick. Meredith FaceTimes Jason at the worst possible moments: naked, covered in drawn-on wieners, hungover, you name it. It’s all so insane that the police officer played by Henry Zebrowski, best known as the most over-the-top host of Last Podcast on the Left, ends up being the most subdued person in the entire movie. The one guy I’ve never seen play it straight is somehow the de facto straight man in Dirty Grandpa.

Robert De Niro asks his new Black friends “if he can say it” before dropping N-bombs during karaoke. Zac Efron gets arrested for exposing himself to a minor. Aubrey Plaza speaks almost entirely in sexually charged euphemisms. It just keeps going.

I’m not here to say that Dirty Grandpa is terrible because it’s in poor taste. That’s the whole point. That’s not the issue. The problem is there’s too much shtick and not enough character development. There’s no real emotional throughline to carry the story. Everybody is dialed up to 11, and there’s no room to breathe. It feels like they were aiming for Bad Santa but landed closer to Bio-Dome. There’s no depth if you’re only exploring one dimension.

There are some great stand-alone moments in Dirty Grandpa, and it thrives on offending your sensibilities. But without any substance, the humor wears thin fast, which is a shame because everybody clearly understood the assignment.

Dirty Grandpa is currently streaming on Hulu.

Taylor Frankie Paul’s leap from social media fame to reality TV star unraveled in dramatic fashion, sending ABC into crisis mode just days before a major premiere. 

What was meant to be a fresh season of “The Bachelorette” instead turned into a last-minute cancellation fueled by resurfaced legal issues, disturbing footage, and growing backlash. 

As new details emerged, the network was forced into a rapid response, leaving contestants, executives, and viewers scrambling to process the fallout.

Taylor Frankie Paul’s Past Assault Case Resurfaces As Casting Backlash Grows

The controversy surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul intensified after details of her past legal trouble came back into focus.

In 2023, the reality TV star pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after throwing a chair during an argument, an act that resulted in her child being struck. That case alone raised concerns, especially as she remained on probation.

At the same time, she became the subject of a new police investigation in February 2026, involving allegations that she attacked her former partner, Dakota Mortensen. The combination of past conviction and fresh claims quickly fueled criticism.

Viewers questioned why ABC would move forward with her as the face of a dating franchise centered on love and stability. 

Calls for a boycott began gaining traction, with many arguing the decision reflected poor judgment from the network.

Paul Video Of Alleged Attack Triggers Sudden Cancellation

The situation escalated rapidly when footage tied to the 2023 assault case surfaced online.

The video reportedly showed Taylor Frankie Paul lunging at Mortensen during an argument, with a child heard crying after being caught in the middle. The clip quickly spread, sparking immediate outrage.

ABC responded within hours and stopped the show from airing. In a statement, the network announced, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.”

Insiders confirmed how quickly the decision came together. “The decision to cancel the show literally just came in,” a source told the Daily Mail, adding, “The video is what pushed the decision over the edge because, as of yesterday, the show was still going on as planned.”

The sudden shift left many stunned, especially given how close the premiere date was.

Taylor Frankie Paul Fallout Leaves ABC Scrambling Behind The Scenes

As backlash intensified, Paul’s situation created chaos internally at ABC. Executives were reportedly locked in urgent meetings trying to figure out how to respond. 

“No one is happy,” one insider admitted. “It’s a crisis situation. The timing couldn’t be worse.”

Financial pressure quickly added to the urgency. “Advertisers were pulling out, and shareholders were pissed! They could lose millions,” another source revealed.

There were discussions about postponing the show, but scheduling issues made that option difficult. 

Meanwhile, contestants were left in limbo, with some reportedly feeling “very violated” as details unfolded publicly.

Legal teams also became involved as fears grew that the fallout could damage the entire “Bachelor” franchise, not just a single season.

Paul’s Relationship With Dakota Mortensen Raises Serious Concerns

Beyond the legal issues, Taylor Frankie Paul’s relationship with Mortensen raised additional red flags for producers.

Although the pair had announced their breakup, insiders claimed the situation was far from over. 

“Taylor and Dakota have the most toxic relationship,” one source said, describing an ongoing cycle that those close to them found difficult to ignore.

There were also claims that the 31-year-old remained emotionally tied to Mortensen, with one insider alleging she was “addicted” to the relationship. 

That dynamic reportedly created tension during production and raised doubts about her readiness to pursue a new romance on television.

Mortensen himself added another layer to the story, revealing that the two had hooked up the night before she left to film the show, something that further complicated the narrative the producers were trying to build.

Taylor Frankie Paul Speaks Out As Legal Tensions Continue To Escalate

As the controversy unfolded, Paul addressed the situation publicly, acknowledging the weight of the moment.

“Honestly, it’s been a heavy time to see the headlines, especially during the time of the Bachelorette being released,” she said per PEOPLE, the day before the show was cancelled, adding, “I’m a person that will always speak my truth – that’s what I’m known for. So, when the time is right, I will be.”

On Thursday, following the show’s cancellation, her team released a statement to PEOPLE, noting that the star had decided to focus on family and prioritize safety after “years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation.”

Mortensen didn’t stay silent about the abuse allegations. He responded by pushing back on those claims, saying, “As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation.” 

He added that he “categorically” denies the accusations against him and is focused on their child’s well-being.

Mortensen has since filed for a restraining order, with a hearing set, while Paul’s probation status means any new legal developments could carry significant consequences.

Nicole Young is parting ways with Selling Sunset after four seasons on the Netflix series.

Her representative confirmed to People on Friday, March 20, that the real estate agent, 40, is leaving the reality show over her “disheartening” portrayal.

“Nicole was consistently placed in situations which required her to remain on the defensive, often within what can only be described as unnecessarily toxic and overly contrived dramatic circumstances,” her rep said, claiming that Nicole was often defending “her character and her intentions.”

“She felt she was no longer being represented authentically,” the spokesperson added. “[It is] entirely Nicole’s own decision to step away from the show in season 9.”

Her rep also made sure to share that Nicole’s recent move to Nashville had nothing to do with her decision to leave the show but noted it “signaled the end of her time” on Selling Sunset.

In an additional statement to Us Weekly, Young shared of her exit, “I’m absolutely loving life in Nashville and couldn’t be happier with this new chapter. I’m grateful for my time on Selling Sunset and everything it brought into my life, but it was the right moment to close that door. I’m excited for what’s ahead, this is definitely not the last you’ll see from me.”

This past season, fans got an inside look at her feud with Chrishell Stause, which started when Nicole joined the show in season 6. Nicole accused Chrishell, 44, of only getting house listings because their boss Jason Oppenheim had feelings for her.

Chrishell, who briefly dated Jason in 2021, denied Nicole’s claims and then alleged that she was on drugs during a group dinner, which Nicole also denied. Chrishell later attempted to smooth things over, but Nicole refused to apologize for her past comments.

In season 7, Nicole brought up rumors that Emma Hernan was allegedly sleeping with a married man. Chrishell then no longer wanted to work with Nicole, resulting in her screen time being put on pause.

“I had a call with production two days ago during which they told me I have absolutely not been fired from the cast but they chose to pause my filming schedule until next week in order to protect me from situations on set that had become very contentious,” Nicole told Us Weekly in a January 2025 statement.

The duo reunited during the season 7 reunion, where Chrishell told Nicole that she “hates” her. Nicole later took to social media to claim that she “apologized” to Chrishell, but she claimed it wasn’t aired.

When season 8 premiered, Chrishell shared via Instagram that she would “never” work with Nicole again. The duo both starred on season 9 but continued to butt heads.

Chrishell, for her part, announced her exit from the show in November 2025.

Dorit Kemsley is one of the stars of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and has been since season seven. Sadly, much of her storyline over the past couple of seasons has revolved around her separation from Paul PK Kemsely and their rumored money woes. Now, their home is reportedly facing pre-foreclosure, and the “RHOBH” star is opening up about it in a new interview.

Dorit Kemsley Says She Didn’t Know PK Wasn’t Paying The Rent

Kemsley appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen on March 19. While on, not only did they discuss season 15 of “RHOBH,” but Cohen also mentioned the recent news that she and PK were severely behind on mortgage payments, something that has reportedly plagued the couple before.

She said, “Well, that is something that I learned a few weeks before everyone else learned, as we discussed at the reunion. It’s something that PK was in charge of. I didn’t know it was not being paid. We’ve since spoken, and he agreed to bring it up to date.”

After that, Kemsley shared that she and her estranged husband plan to put the home on the market. According to her, “And the kids and I will find a new home.”

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How Much Does The ‘RHOBH’ Star Allegedly Owe?

According to RadarOnline, the Kemsleys’ $6.4 million Encino home is in pre-foreclosure due to them being behind on repaying their “unconventional loans” for the property. The report states that two lenders, Tanka LLC and Private Money Solutions, filed default notices in January 2026.

Respectively, the companies are said to have loaned the couple $600,000 and $150k. They were granted the loan in February 2022 and, per the outlet, the court documents reveal that they haven’t paid the companies since September 2025.

Without payments, the home could enter into a non-judicial foreclosure. If this happens, the lender would not be required to go to court if they decide to foreclose on the California home.

That’s not all, Prime Recon LLC also filed a default notice in December 2025. The company is said to be owed $5,196,750 in addition to $294,321 in missed payments dating back to April of the same year.

‘RHOBH’ Fans Have Opinions On Dorit’s Home Situation

As mentioned, this isn’t the first time the Kemsleys have been rumored to be behind on various loans connected to their home. As a result, fans are reacting, with many wondering why the “RHOBH” star isn’t more aware of her own finances.

One person said on TikTok, “How is it possible that you don’t know if your mortgage is paid or not?” Someone else stated, “HOLD UP, she literally was on camera saying PK wrote a 7-page letter telling her that SHE will be responsible for the mortgage and a bunch of other financials going forward.”

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Another person wrote, “I’m confused…didn’t she say she got a 6-7 page email from PK saying what he wasn’t responsible for and she had to take over certain things.”

Lastly, a different “RHOBH” fan commended Kemsley, saying, “I think she was very transparent about her life, and she didn’t really have to give the details, but she did. I like Dorit.”

Dorit Also Addressed Being Tardy On ‘RHOBH’

While on “Watch What Happens Live,” Kemsley was also asked about her tidiness, which is an issue many of her co-stars, especially Kyle Richards, have called out. During the interview, Cohen noted that several fans had sent in questions on the matter.

In addressing it, she said, “I think it’s something that I now will consider and be more aware of because I really do feel bad. Like, I go through so much anxiety, and then I think if anything, it’s more of I’m so embarrassed, and I feel like how many sorries can you say. Then it almost feels like it’s insincere.”

She added, “I’m not great with time management.”

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The ‘Housewives’ Star Previously Gave An Update On PK

Kemsley officially filed for divorce in April 2025, after announcing their separation in May 2024. Then in January 2026, she gave Cohen an update during an episode of “Watch What Happens Live” after he asked if things had improved.

She said, “You don’t know how much I would love to be sitting here, you asking me that question … and say, ‘Yes, Andy, [things are] so much better.’” She then shook her head, indicating that things were not better between them.

“RHOBH” airs on Bravo on Thursday nights.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 13 seconds ago

Normally, I’m not too keen on movies about writers trying to tell their career-defining story because they usually come off as ham-fisted and self-important. 2022’s Vengeance, written and directed by The Office’s B.J. Novak, starts with that all-too-familiar setup, but quickly becomes something much more as it unpacks its mystery and escalates into a full-blown revenge plot with no clear antagonist. Through its storytelling, we get a look at the quiet, isolated pockets of America that modern life has largely forgotten. In a community like this, gossip spreads fast, conspiracy theories run rampant, and everybody is hiding something from everybody else, or simply hiding from themselves.

Twisting like a corkscrew into a bottle of the cheapest gas station swill you can find, Vengeance plays its cards close to its chest and plays you right along with it as it slowly reveals what’s truly at stake. Whether you find its conclusion satisfying will depend on what you take away from it, but at the very least, you’ll have a few introspective moments that make Vengeance worth your time if you’re in the mood for some soul searching.

Writers Are The Worst

Ben Manalowitz (B.J. Novak) is a womanizing, self-aggrandizing New York writer trying to hit it big with his new podcast. He speaks in sweeping generalizations about what it means to be American and how we all search for meaning in misguided ways. For Ben, that means hooking up with as many women as possible and never committing, which brings us to the primary source of conflict in Vengeance: Abilene Shaw (Lio Tipton).

Abilene was just another name in rotation on Ben’s phone, but she becomes much more significant when her brother Ty (Boyd Holbrook) calls to tell him she’s died of a drug overdose, despite never even taking something as mild as Tylenol (according to him). He asks Ben to fly out to rural Texas for the funeral, even though they barely knew each other. When we meet the rest of Abilene’s family, it becomes clear she exaggerated their relationship, making it seem far more serious than it actually was.

To her mother Sharon (J. Smith-Cameron), Granny Carol (Louanne Stephens), sisters Kansas City (Dove Cameron) and Paris (Isabella Amara), and younger brother Mason (Eli Abrams Bickel), Ben was basically already family based on Abilene’s version of events. Ty reveals the real reason he reached out is because he believes Abilene was murdered, and in this part of Texas, things like that aren’t exactly handled by the book. While suspicion falls on a local drug dealer named Sancholo (Zach Villa), Ben is convinced her death was, unfortunately, self-inflicted and that the conspiracy theories are just an elaborate way for the family to cope with their loss.

Along the way, Ben befriends local music producer Quentin Sellers (Ashton Kutcher), who once tried to help Abilene launch her music career. Like Ben, Quentin is an outsider who relocated to a rural community, and his perspective on life, legacy, and storytelling paints a much darker picture involving local politics, vigilante justice, and the drug problem affecting the area. The issue is that everybody is telling their own version of events, including Ben, who sends every recorded conversation to his podcast producer Eloise (Issa Rae), who is more interested in crafting a compelling narrative than actually uncovering the truth.

Serious Pockets Of Humanity In West Texas

Going into this fully intending to tell a story about the lies we tell ourselves, Ben experiences several come-to-Jesus moments along the way. Through one of the best product placements I’ve ever seen, he realizes that places like Whataburger are more than just somewhere to grab a greasy meal in hicktown; they represent community and family, something that he doesn’t have a firm grasp on. He also starts to suspect he might be the target of an assassination plot himself. Even more surprising, he begins to consider that Abilene may have actually been murdered by someone still unknown, which undermines the entire reason he came to Texas in the first place.

Vengeance is awkward, heartfelt, and genuinely funny, using the tragedy at its core as a springboard to explore these ideas. Ben walks around with a tape recorder looking for a story he wants to tell, completely unaware that his presence is shaping the story itself in ways he could have never anticipated. By treating Abilene’s family as a jumping point for his career, he slowly realizes he embodies the exact behavior he claims to critique, and he doesn’t come to terms with that easily.

A hidden gem you may have missed on its initial release, Vengeance has a way of stopping you in your tracks and making you think about your life, your relationships, how you present yourself, and how others see you. If that sounds like something you’re up for, you can stream it right now on Netflix.