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6 Animated Series Perfect for Dungeons & Dragons Fans

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Jinx's sacrifice in 'Arcane.'

The fantasy genre just can’t exist without Dungeons & Dragons, and that’s not an empty hot take. For anyone who somehow missed the epic phenomenon that is Dungeons & Dragons, the game is a shared adventure where a group of players creates heroes, explores strange worlds, fights monsters, and makes questionable decisions before the dice flip the odds. One person guides the story as the Dungeon Master, but the real fun comes from watching completely different characters work together to survive the most unexpected situations.

The game is extremely entertaining, but ultimately, it thrives on a strong sense of camaraderie among the players. Plenty of animated shows capture that same feeling, even when they aren’t directly based on the games. These six animated series are for anyone searching for the same mix of excitement, heart, and unpredictability that Dungeons & Dragons is known for.

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1

‘Arcane’ (2021–2024)

Jinx's sacrifice in 'Arcane.'
Jinx’s sacrifice in ‘Arcane.’
Image via Netflix

Arcane is based on Riot Games’ fan-favorite League of Legends universe and expands the game’s lore into a rich fantasy drama. The story takes place across the divided worlds of Piltover and Zaun and follows sisters Vi and Powder after a failed robbery tears their family apart. Years later, Vi has become a hardened fighter, while Powder has transformed into the unstable and destructive Jinx. Their relationship is the emotional center of the story, but aside from that, Arcane brings together dangerous magic, political conflict, and broken alliances to tie every storyline into one big adventure.

The series never treats its characters as black and white and gives nuance to even the messiest decisions made by Piltover’s leaders and Zaun’s revolutionaries. Even the characters trying to do the right thing keep discovering that every decision leads to consequences they cannot control. This kind of ambitious worldbuilding makes the series’ moral complexity feel even stronger. Safe to say, Dungeons & Dragons fans will feel right at home in Arcane’s world, where the stakes can completely change in the blink of an eye.

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2

‘Blue Eye Samurai’ (2023–Present)

Close-up of Mizu scowling with her face covered in blood
Close-up of Mizu scowling with her face covered in blood
Image via Netflix

Blue Eye Samurai has all the makings of a classic revenge story, until one realizes that the animated action series is so much more than just that. The story takes place in 17th-century Japan and follows mixed-race master swordsman Mizu, who is hunting four white men, one of whom may be her father. Now, the protagonist’s blue eyes and gender will easily make her a target, so she travels in disguise and treats every person she meets as either a means to her end or an enemy. Mizu’s obsession drives the story forward, and her backstory gives the violence real weight, with every battle revealing something new about her.

Her eventual alliances with Ringo, Taigen, and Akemi turn her journey into a much more compelling adventure. Each character is following a different path, but their choices repeatedly pull them into the same conflict. Blue Eye Samurai is a treat for audiences who appreciate group-based fantasy storytelling and how one simple quest keeps growing in unexpected directions. Most importantly, the series understands that a good fantasy story isn’t just about defeating the bad guy, but about the more personal journey its characters embark on.











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Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz
Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To?
Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
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Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.

🐺Stark

🦁Lannister

🐉Targaryen

🦌Baratheon

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🌹Tyrell

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01

Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do?
In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.





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02

What is the source of your power?
Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?





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03

Who do you truly fight for?
Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.





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04

How do you deal with your enemies?
A house’s method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.





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05

What kind of ruler do you believe in?
Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.





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06

You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond?
How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.





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07

Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe?
Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.





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08

The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do?
The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.





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The Maester Has Spoken
Your House Is…

Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don’t. That’s very much up to you.

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Winterfell · The North

🐺 House Stark

Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.

  • You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
  • Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn’t bend when things get difficult.
  • The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
  • You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.

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Casterly Rock · The Westerlands

🦁 House Lannister

You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.

  • You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
  • A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
  • You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
  • The lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.

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Dragonstone · The Iron Throne

🐉 House Targaryen

You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.

  • You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
  • Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
  • The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
  • At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.

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Storm’s End · The Stormlands

🦌 House Baratheon

You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.

  • Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what’s behind it.
  • You value strength and straight dealing. You’d rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
  • The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
  • The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.

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Highgarden · The Reach

🌹 House Tyrell

You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes.

  • Growing strong is your house’s motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
  • You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
  • The Tyrells fed King’s Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
  • You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
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3

‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ (2022–Present)

The Vox Machina crew magically bound by Percy in Season 3
The Vox Machina crew magically bound by Percy in Season 3
Image via Prime Video
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The Legend of Vox Machina is based on the first campaign of Critical Role, which began as a private tabletop game before becoming a hugely popular online show. The show follows seven adventurers who care about money and drinks more than anything else. The thing is that all of them are skilled individually, but getting them to work together in the face of a threat is as impossible as it gets. Their first adventure earns them some respect, but the story becomes far more personal when one member of the group, Percy, comes face-to-face with Sylas and Delilah Briarwood, the couple who murdered his family and took control of his home. The group travels to Whitestone to help him reclaim it, only to realize that Percy’s desire for revenge is turning into something much more brutal.

From there, the crew’s journey leads them to forgotten tombs, dangerous cities, and other planes of existence in search of ancient weapons called the Vestiges of Divergence. However, even with a scale so grand, the core focus of the show remains the friendships holding this deeply dysfunctional group together. In fact, that balance is exactly what makes The Legend of Vox Machina so much fun. The heroes argue, make terrible decisions, and occasionally succeed by chance. Along the way, though, they learn that their greatest victories only happen when they stop trying to outshine each other. The Legend of Vox Machina captures the joy of a shared fantasy adventure, and that’s what makes it such a special show.

4

‘Castlevania’ (2017–2021)

Dracula looking slightly up amid flames in Castlevania.
Dracula looking slightly up amid flames in Castlevania.
Image via Netflix
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Castlevania begins with the iconic Dracula falling in love. However, when his wife, Lisa, is falsely accused of witchcraft and burned alive by the Church, the grief drives him mad. Dracula gives the people of Wallachia one year to make peace before unleashing an army of vampires and night creatures upon them. Now, Trevor Belmont, the drunken and disgraced last member of a legendary monster-hunting family, becomes humanity’s best hope. Naturally, Trevor wants nothing to do with saving a society that drove his family into exile. However, he crosses paths with fearless magician Sypha Belnades and Dracula’s half-human son, Alucard.

Together, the three of them agree to find the villain’s moving castle to stop his war against humanity. Trevor has years of monster-hunting knowledge, Sypha can control the elements, and Alucard has the strength and speed of a vampire, which makes the characters the perfect trio to bring Dracula down. Over the course of four seasons, Castlevania moves beyond this first mission, without ever feeling too disconnected from the initial conflict. The series allows its characters to grow without slowing down the action. Castlevania is gothic and gory, but it has its fair share of heartfelt moments that keep the audience genuinely invested in every plot until the end.

5

‘Blood of Zeus’ (2020–2025)

Characters lined up and looking to the right in 'Blood of Zeus'
Characters lined up and looking to the right in ‘Blood of Zeus’
Image via Netflix
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Blood of Zeus could have done the easy thing and retold Greek myths that most people are already familiar with. Instead, the show created a new hero and placed him directly in the middle of the gods’ famously messy family drama. Heron begins the series as a poor outcast living with his mother in ancient Greece, only to discover that he is one of Zeus’ many illegitimate sons. Unfortunately, this also catches the attention of Hera, who directs her anger at Heron and unleashes a conflict involving gods, mortals, demons, and long-buried Giants. Heron is soon pulled into a much larger fight alongside the warrior Alexia and a small group of unlikely allies. At the same time, he must face Seraphim, a brutal demon leader whose past is closely connected to his own.

Blood of Zeus delivers a grand fantasy epic that is easy to get lost in. The series continues expanding after its first war as Heron is forced to take greater responsibility for Olympus following Zeus’ death. The series works because it shows how its gods are just as flawed as the humans caught in their battles. Their jealousy and old grudges keep creating new problems, while Heron is left to deal with the consequences. The show might borrow from Greek mythology and feature enchanted weapons, dangerous enemies, and trips to the Underworld, but at the end of the day, it is a family drama that almost everyone will relate to.

6

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005–2008)

Sokka, Aang, and Katara looking worried in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Sokka, Aang, and Katara looking worried in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Image via Nickelodeon
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Avatar: The Last Airbender is hands-down one of the greatest animated series ever created. The show centers on 12-year-old Aang, the last surviving Air Nomad and the Avatar, a powerful figure expected to master all four elements and restore balance to the world. Not just that, but Aang is also the only person capable of ending the Fire Nation’s century-long war. He is soon joined by siblings Katara and Sokka, and later Toph, as the group travels across the world to help Aang master water, earth, and fire before facing Fire Lord Ozai. For all its childlike playfulness and warmth, Avatar: The Last Airbender also takes the damage caused by war and colonialism very seriously.

The show demonstrates how the Fire Nation occupies people’s land, destroys their culture, and spreads propaganda to teach its own children a false version of history. The audience sees all this damage through Aang’s eyes, but none of it feels too heavy because of the show’s focus on friendship and wonder. The world in Avatar: The Last Airbender feels magical and alive, despite the constant danger the people in this world face. The show offers all of its characters, even Zuko, genuine growth to show how real strength comes from understanding others and choosing compassion over everything else. Very few animated series are as meaningful and memorable as Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the show’s themes only make it feel more relevant with time.


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Avatar: The Last Airbender

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Release Date

2005 – 2008-00-00

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Network

Nickelodeon

Showrunner
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Michael Dante DiMartino

Directors

Giancarlo Volpe, Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan, Dave Filoni, Joaquim Dos Santos, Anthony Lioi

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Stephen Baldwin explains why he left Hollywood, says Alec Baldwin warned him about ‘career-ending mistake’

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Baldwin admitted that he “didn’t want to be Tom Cruise” and that “God spoke to” his housekeeper about his life trajectory.

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Social Mentions Klay Thompson W. Cooking

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Missing Out? Megan Thee Stallion's Latest Cooking Video Has Social Media Users Mentioning Klay Thompson & His Dad

Megan Thee Stallion‘s latest cooking video has social media users mentioning her ex-boyfriend, Klay Thompson, and his dad.

RELATED: Oop! Social Media Users Are Mentioning Klay Thompson While Droppin’ Mixed Reactions To Megan Thee Stallion’s Latest Song Snippet (VIDEO)

More On Megan Thee Stallion’s Latest Cooking Video

Over the weekend, Megan Thee Stallion took to Instagram to share her chef skills with the world. This time, Meg showed that she was cooking up spaghetti and catfish. Additionally, the rapper called it her “million dollar” plate and noted that she was seemingly wrapping up production on her album.

“Million 💸 spaghetti and catfish today for Farris and Ju to finish THEE ALBUM,” she captioned the clip, which showed her baking the spaghetti, garlic bread, and frying up the catfish.

Peep the process and her finished plate below.

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Megan Thee Stallion’s Latest Cooking Video Has Social Media Users Mentioning Klay Thompson & His Dad

Social media users immediately slid into TSR’s comment section with reactions to Megan Thee Stallion’s cooking video. Many, seemingly, couldn’t help but mention Klay Thompson and his dad.

Instagram user @hood_hippie0587 wrote, Klay’s daddy somewhere, smackin him upside his head sayin, ‘That should’ve been my plate 🤨!’ 😩”

While Instagram user @kimmymar added, I know dude daddy miss her cooking 😩😂”

Instagram user @jk_leblanc409 wrote,Klay really went back to eating unseasoned food 🤦🏾‍♂️”

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While Instagram user @_xavoo added, Klay daddy somewhere PISSED seeing this 🤣”

Instagram user @crimeintel75 wrote, Nah real men understand what manipulation looks like. She’s advertising😂. Men who get women understand this and would never fall for this.😂😂😂💯”

While Instagram user @dymondcrystal_ added, Lmao maybe she was thinking about lasagna 😂 I’ve actually never seen somebody bake spaghetti”

Instagram user @lit_ass_scorpio wrote,I know he missing his favorite , catfish and spaghetti with some red sauce 🤣🤣🤣”

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While Instagram user @da_melanated_empress added, This the same spaghetti 🍝that ran Klay away 😂😂”

Instagram user @prettisavvagee wrote, Why yall keep bringing up Klay??🥴 He is a basketball champion who’s made over $300 million. He’s living his best single life next.🥰🥰”

While Instagram user @mskayceecore added, klay daddy pissed”

Klay Thompson Previously Made Headlines

Klay Thompson previously made headlines by way of Meg Thee Stallion in June. As The Shade Room previously reported, at the time, Megan Thee Stallion used a video clip to tease an apparent song. In the clip, women alongside her sang, “That man ain’t s**t,” as Meg rapped about putting “wifey s**t” to bed.

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RELATED: Whew! Social Media Sounds OFF After Tristan Thompson Gives Klay Thompson Advice Following Split From Megan Thee Stallion (VIDEO)

What Do You Think Roomies?

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10 Sci-Fi Movies That Are Definitely Not for Kids

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Grey Trace screams in pain in Upgrade

This genre gets sold with spaceships, robots, strange planets, and cool technology whether the story carries substance or not. Then some films use those same ingredients to talk about bodily violation, war, exploitation, grief, sexual control, and the fear that human beings may be the ugliest thing in the room. But that’s cliche too at this point. So when a sci-fi film needs to stand out, it needs to do more. The movies on this list do more in a different way.

These are not family-night picks with a few scary scenes. They are adult films built around disturbing ideas, difficult images, and questions that stay uncomfortable long after the credits. A younger viewer might be impressed by the effects. An adult is more likely to recognise the anger, loneliness, political cruelty, or existential dread hiding underneath them. If that interests you, scroll down slowly.

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‘Upgrade’ (2018)

Grey Trace screams in pain in Upgrade
Logan Marshall-Green in Upgrade
Image via OTL Releasing

Upgrade begins as a revenge thriller set in a near future where technology has entered nearly every part of daily life. Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) distrusts that world until a violent attack kills his wife and leaves him paralysed. An experimental computer chip called STEM restores movement to his body, and Grey soon discovers that the system can do far more than help him walk. It can fight, analyse threats, and act with a speed his human brain cannot match.

The action is brutal, but the adult edge comes from the loss of control. Grey may look stronger after the implant, yet every victory makes the relationship between body and machine more unsettling. The story is lean, nasty, and increasingly suspicious of every technological promise. Watch it for the bone-snapping fights, then stay for the much darker question about who is actually using whom.

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‘Event Horizon’ (1997)

Sam Neill wears a space uniform and looks anxious in Event Horizon.
Sam Neill wears a space uniform and looks anxious in Event Horizon.
Image via Paramount Pictures

A rescue crew travels to Neptune after the Event Horizon suddenly reappears seven years after vanishing during an experimental voyage. The ship was designed to create an artificial black hole and travel across impossible distances. Something went wrong during the first test, and the empty corridors now contain evidence that the crew reached a place nobody was meant to find. That’s Event Horizon for you. This movie is messy in places, but its best ideas are genuinely frightening. Put it on late at night, turn the lights off, and let that ship ruin deep space for you.

It starts with hard science-fiction language and turns into full cosmic horror. The production design mixes industrial machinery with religious architecture. The ship resembles a cathedral built for pain. Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) has that steady authority that any and every Fishburne character does. Dr. Weir (late Sam Neill) becomes increasingly tied to whatever came back with the vessel. Gore, hallucinations, self-mutilation, and flashes of hellish imagery explain the R rating very quickly. If you get the idea I’ve tried painting so far, you’ll love it.

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‘Possessor’ (2020)

Andrea Riseborough as Tasya Vos sits on a couch and looks stressed in Possessor.
Andrea Riseborough as Tasya Vos sits on a couch and looks stressed in Possessor.
Image via NEON

Corporate assassins in Possessor carry out murders by taking control of other people’s bodies. Tasya Vos (Andrea Riseborough) enters a host’s mind through implanted technology, completes the assignment, and then forces the host to die so she can return to herself. Her latest job places her inside Colin Tate (Christopher Abbott), whose relationship with a wealthy family gives the company access to its next target. The process then starts breaking down when Colin resists her control.

Brandon Cronenberg (the director) takes the body-horror interests associated with his family name and pushes them into questions about identity, labour, and emotional detachment. Tasya’s character spends so much time becoming other people that her own home life seems distant and rehearsed. Tate brings an entirely different energy once he begins fighting for ownership of his mind. The violence is intimate, graphic, and deliberately hard to watch. Possessor is the pick for viewers who want science fiction that leaves them fascinated, slightly sick, and eager to argue about whose personality survived.

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‘The Fly’ (1986)

Jeff Goldblum and a baboon in The Fly - 1986
Jeff Goldblum and a baboon in The Fly – 1986
Image via 20th Century Studios

The Fly is romantic, sad, funny, revolting, and far more human than most respectable dramas. Watch it when you want a horror film with a real heart beating under all the slime. A brilliant scientist believes he has solved teleportation. Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) can move objects between two pods, but living tissue remains the final challenge. After successfully transporting himself, he starts feeling stronger, faster, and more confident. He later learns that a fly entered the pod with him and that the computer fused them at a genetic level.

Not to mention that this is a remake of a 1958 film. And David Cronenberg’s remake is famous for body horror, though reducing it to melting flesh and practical effects misses half the experience. Seth’s transformation also resembles terminal illness, addiction, and the terror of watching someone you love become unrecognisable. Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) create a relationship warm enough to make every physical change hurt. All that counts. The effects remain astonishingly disgusting, but the emotional damage hits harder than the makeup.

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‘District 9’ (2009)

Wikus (Sharlto Copley) hiding in the tall grass in District 9
Wikus (Sharlto Copley) hiding in the tall grass in District 9
Image via TriStar Pictures

An alien spacecraft stalls above Johannesburg, and its starving passengers are eventually confined to a government-controlled settlement called District 9. Years later, officials decide to relocate them to another camp. Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a nervous employee of the private military company handling the operation, leads the eviction effort until exposure to alien technology changes his body and destroys his place in human society. That premise allows District 9 to thrill a crowd and still leave everyone arguing about complicity on the drive home.

The documentary-style opening makes the discrimination feel disturbingly normal too. Aliens are insulted, exploited, experimented on, and discussed as a public nuisance by people who profit from keeping them powerless. South Africa’s history of forced removals and apartheid gives the premise an unmistakable political charge. Wikus begins as part of the system and only develops empathy once the same system targets him. The film eventually erupts into heavy weapons, mech combat, and gruesome violence, but the anger underneath never disappears.

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‘Ex Machina’ (2014)

Caleb in front of a computer looking up Image via A24

In Ex Machina, a young programmer wins a private visit to the isolated home of Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), the billionaire behind the world’s dominant search engine. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), the intern, soon learns the real purpose of the trip. Nathan has created an artificial intelligence named Ava (Alicia Vikander) and wants Caleb to decide whether her consciousness is genuine. Their conversations take place through glass while cameras observe every reaction.

The setup looks clean and controlled, but the house is full of power imbalances. Nathan owns the building, the information, and the bodies inside it. Caleb wants to believe his empathy makes him different, though attraction quickly interferes with judgment. Alicia Vikander’s Ava remains compelling without being reduced to innocence or threat, and Oscar Isaac turns Nathan’s confidence into something increasingly ugly. The film includes nudity, coercion, violence, and enough psychological manipulation to make every conversation suspect. So while it’s not for everybody, Ex Machina is perfect for anyone who likes leaving a movie with three theories and no trust left in the person sitting beside them. That’s a joke. Or not.

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‘Annihilation’ (2018)

Lena checking the inside of an alligator's mouth in 'Annihilation'
Natalie Portman in ‘Annihilation’
Image via Paramount Pictures

A strange zone called the Shimmer is expanding across the American coastline. Few people return after entering it, and those who do come back are changed. It is gorgeous, frightening, and strange enough to make a second viewing feel almost necessary. Lena (Natalie Portman), a biologist and former soldier, joins an all-female expedition hoping to understand what happened to her husband during an earlier mission. Inside the Shimmer, plants, animals, landscapes, and human bodies begin combining in ways that break every familiar biological rule. It’s almost like Alex Garland adapted Jeff VanderMeer’s novel into something less interested in invasion than transformation.

The women enter with different private wounds, and the environment seems to reflect their fear, grief, illness, and self-destructive impulses back at them. The infamous bear is terrifying, yet some of the quieter images are even harder to process. Flowers grow in human shapes. Memories lose their stability. DNA behaves like language being rewritten. That’s Annihilation.

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‘Under the Skin’ (2013)

Laura (Scarlett Johansson) sits and watches from the front seat of a vehicle.
Laura (Scarlett Johansson) sits and watches from the front seat of a vehicle.
Image via A24

Under the Skin is slow, cold, and hypnotic. Give it your full attention and it becomes the kind of film that quietly follows you home. An unnamed woman (Scarlett Johansson) drives around Scotland, approaching lonely men and inviting them into a house where they disappear beneath a black liquid surface. She looks human, speaks calmly, and studies attraction with the distance of someone performing a task she barely understands. Gradually, contact with ordinary people begins changing how she sees them and herself.

Scarlett Johansson filmed several encounters with unsuspecting members of the public, which gives the early conversations an awkward reality, authenticity, that no normal casting process could create. Jonathan Glazer strips away familiar science-fiction explanations and lets behaviour, sound, and imagery carry the experience. Nudity appears but without comfort, sex becomes predatory, and the human body looks vulnerable from every angle.











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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
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Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

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🚀Star Wars

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01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





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02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





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03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





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04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





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05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





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06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





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07

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





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08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





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Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

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The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
  • You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
  • You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
  • The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.

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The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
  • You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
  • You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
  • In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

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Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
  • In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
  • You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
  • In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.

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Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.

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A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
  • You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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‘Children of Men’ (2006)

Clive Owen holding Clare-Hope Ahitey as they walk through a crowd in Children of Men
Clive Owen holding Clare-Hope Ahitey as they walk through a crowd in Children of Men
Image via Universal Pictures
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Humanity has been infertile for nearly two decades, and the youngest person alive has just died. Britain survives through authoritarian control while refugees are hunted, caged, and deported. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) has stopped believing in political causes until his former partner asks him to help transport Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a young refugee carrying the first known pregnancy in eighteen years.

The premise is huge, yet the movie stays close to streets, buses, safe houses, checkpoints, and frightened people trying to keep one woman alive. Alfonso Cuarón’s long takes place the viewer inside violence. Theo begins emotionally numb, while Kee’s pregnancy forces him to imagine a future again. War, state cruelty, terrorism, grief, and childbirth all collide without easy speeches about hope. Children of Men is exhausting in the best way. It leaves you desperate for the characters to reach safety and furious at how recognisable their world has become.

‘The Thing’ (1982)

McCready looking ahead in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)
Kurt Russell in ‘The Thing’
Image via Universal Pictures
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The Thing gives you monsters, gore, mystery, and this highly debated closing moment without spelling out the answer. Watch it with friends and enjoy distrusting every single one of them afterward. A research team in Antarctica discovers an alien organism capable of absorbing and perfectly imitating other living creatures. Nobody knows when the infection began or who has already been replaced. The isolated station becomes a pressure cooker where trust disappears faster than the temperature drops.

John Carpenter’s film arrived to harsh reviews in 1982 and later earned its place among the greatest science-fiction horror movies ever made. Rob Bottin’s practical effects still look grotesque, imaginative, and physically wrong in ways digital work rarely matches. MacReady (Kurt Russell) has no magic solution, only observation, improvisation, and a flamethrower. The blood test, the scale of it is great but the paranoia surrounding it is even better. Every conversation could be happening with something pretending to be human. It’s a great film, and so not for kids.


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The Thing

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Release Date

June 25, 1982

Runtime
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109 minutes

Director

John Carpenter

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Writers

Bill Lancaster, John W. Campbell Jr.

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Tom Cruise’s ‘Reacher’ Sequel Joins Streaming Ahead of Alan Ritchson’s Return

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Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher with his hands raised in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

It’s now less than two weeks until Prime Video‘s best ass-kicking action series, Reacher, makes its long-awaited return, with Alan Ritchson‘s titular skull-cracker facing his toughest task yet following a brutal third season. In the past week, courtesy of San Diego Comic-Con 2026 taking place and a panel for the show being in attendance, the hype for Season 4 has shifted into a new gear, with the release of a pulse-racing trailer showcasing what dangers lie ahead for everyone’s favorite former U.S. Army military police major.

Now the most famous adaptation of Lee Child’s acclaimed novel series, Prime Video’s Reacher has earned a near-perfect reception for its first three installments. The upcoming fourth will adapt Gone Tomorrow, the 13th novel in Child’s long-running series, with fans in for non-stop action as the season includes 30 fight sequences spread across its eight episodes, according to Ritchson, which is a new record for the series. But years before Ritchson turned the character into his own, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars gave the role a try, not once but twice.

Back in 2012, Tom Cruise joined forces with long-time collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, in their first partnership as star and director, on a big-budget Jack Reacher adaptation. The first installment might’ve had its detractors, but it proved popular enough that a sequel was greenlit, with Jack Reacher: Never Go Back released almost ten years ago, in October 2016. This sequel was the recipient of much more backlash than the original, with both critics and audiences responding poorly, with fans of the original novels taking umbrage in particular. However, with Reacher Season 4 just a few days away, perhaps this sequel is a great way to get in the mood? Starting August 1, you’ll be able to stream Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on Paramount+.

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Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz
Which Action Hero Would Be
Your Perfect Partner?

Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt

Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.

🎖️Rambo

🍸James Bond

🏺Indiana Jones

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🔧John McClane

🎭Ethan Hunt

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01

You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner?
The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.





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02

You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel?
How you get there is half the mission.





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03

You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do?
This is when you find out what someone is really made of.





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04

The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest?
Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.





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05

How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission?
Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.





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06

Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them?
The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.





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07

Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do?
Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.





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08

What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace?
A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.





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09

Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with?
No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.





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10

It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now?
The last question is the most honest one.





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Your Partner Has Been Assigned
Your Perfect Partner Is…

Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.

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Rambo

Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.

James Bond

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Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.

Indiana Jones

Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.

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John McClane

Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.

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Ethan Hunt

Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.

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Will There Be a ‘Reacher’ Season 5?

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher with his hands raised in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Image via Paramount Pictures
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Cruise’s interpretation of the character might not have made it beyond two installments, but Ritchson’s Reacher looks destined to stay on our screens for many years yet. Reacher has thankfully already been picked up for Season 5, with production already underway. Ritchson recently gave fans a sneak peek of Season 5 on his social media, and, if all goes well, we could be seeing the fifth installment of this hit series as soon as next year.

As of August 1, you can stream Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.


Jack Reacher Never Go Back Movie Poster
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Release Date

October 21, 2016

Runtime

118minutes

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Director

Edward Zwick

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Bravo Reportedly Eyeing NeNe Leakes For ‘RHOA’ Return

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NeNe Leakes

NeNe Leakes may be finally making her long-awaited return to Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” According to a new report, the network has already sent out contracts for season 18, and the “RHOA” OG was among the ladies to receive one.

A new report also claims that Shamea Morton, who has appeared on “RHOA” as a full-time cast member for the last two seasons, received her packing papers and was reportedly asked to leave the show after her explosive feud with Porsha Williams.

NeNe Leakes
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A source close to the production of “RHOA” has reportedly confirmed to Reality Blurb that Bravo has been in talks with NeNe Leakes about returning to the show for the upcoming 18th season.

The insider claimed that contracts have gone out, and to make space for Leakes, the network has allegedly asked Morton to step aside.

“Contracts went out two days ago,” the source said, adding that Bravo is “very interested” in finally giving Leakes the chance to return.

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Filming is reportedly scheduled to begin in three weeks, directly after the season 17 reunion finishes airing at the end of August.

NeNe Leakes Appeared To Hint At A Possible Return To ‘RHOA’ On Her Instagram Stories

Leakes hasn’t confirmed yet whether the reports about her potential return to Bravo are real; however, fans noticed that she shared a message on her Instagram Stories late last week that seemingly hinted at something good going her way.

“This is the BEST I have felt in a longgggggggg time,” she wrote over top of a fancy plate of food. “#SuperHappy.”

If Leakes does make an official “RHOA” comeback, it’ll be the first time that she’s appeared on the series since her dramatic exit in 2020.

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She then sued the network, Andy Cohen, and the production company Truly Original in 2022, alleging discrimination and a hostile work environment.

A former “RHOA” executive producer previously spoke about the reality star’s ability to fit in with the group should she ever be asked to return and said that Leakes would fit right in.

“NeNe fits in whatever room she enters,” Carlos King said. “We’re talking about [NeNe Leakes], who is the queen of reality television. She’s the greatest Housewife of all time, and I’m hearing the rumors as well, and I think this is a step in the right direction for all of us NayNays [NeNe’s fanbase].”

NeNe Leakes Will Appear In ‘Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip’

While rumors of Leakes’ return to “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” circulate around this time every year, there’s reason to believe they could be true this time, considering Leakes and Bravo publicly reconciled earlier this year after a years-long battle.

According to The Blast, Leakes reached an agreement with Bravo to appear in their upcoming special, “The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip,” which will celebrate 20 years of the iconic franchise.

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Leakes won’t be a main cast member; however, she will be heavily featured as a guest. The former Broadway actress shared an emotional statement about her comeback directly after the reports went out, saying she was thrilled to be back in the fold.

“I am happy, overjoyed to say that I will be returning to Bravo,” she said through tears. “I almost can’t believe the words that are coming out of my mouth.”

What Is ‘Ultimate Girls Trip’?

The upcoming “RHUGT” special will begin airing on Bravo on August 9 at 9 PM EST. The series, which will feature eight of the franchise’s most notable housewives, follows them as they travel to a slew of different cities to catch up with housewives from the past and present. Over 80 additional cast members will appear throughout the episodes.

“For two decades, the Real Housewives has amplified women’s voices, spotlighted their ambition, humor, and strength, inspiring millions with their unapologetic authenticity,” said Bravo executive Frances Berwick. “The Real Housewives: Ultimate Road Trip’ is a love letter to the women who turned a reality television show into a cultural phenomenon — and the fans who’ve been there for every laugh, gasp, toast, and table turn.”

Cohen Appears To Be Moving Forward With Leakes After The Lawsuit

Andy Cohen at After The Hunt - 2025 NYFF
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“Real Housewives” godfather Andy Cohen also broke his silence on Leakes’ return after the news became public and said that he was excited for people to see her back on the show.

In another interview, per The Blast, he also implied that he was glad to be moving forward with the mother of two after their rocky relationship in the past.

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“We are celebrating 20 years of the Housewives. I can’t speak to that lawsuit, but it’s in the past. She was integral to the show and its success. As we looked back on 20 years, it felt like doing something with her would be really nice for the fans, and she really wanted to do it. It was very positive,” he said.

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‘RHOC’ Alum Alexis Bellino Reflects on Her Recent Facelift

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Alexis Bellino and John Janssen at Kathy Hilton's home for private holiday charity event

Alexis Bellino returned to Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” in 2024 as a friend of the show, several years after her initial exit, but only remained on the series for a season. Now, almost a year after her wedding to John Janssen, the Bravo alum is revealing that she underwent a facelift. This comes after she recently opened up about the backlash she received following her “RHOC” return.

Alexis Bellino and John Janssen at Kathy Hilton's home for private holiday charity event
APEX / MEGA

Bellino opened up to PEOPLE in August 2026, revealing that she underwent a mid-face lift as an early birthday present. Regarding her reasoning for the procedure, the ‘RHOC’ alum stated, “Why I went down this path is [because] a couple of my friends that are a decade older than me both had it done at 49, and they look amazing at 60. I kind of feel like, learn from people that are older and wiser than me.”

During the interview, Bellino revealed that her three kids and husband were “against” the idea of her going under the knife. Regarding the children, she recalled, “They said, ‘Mom, please come on. Jesus Jugs, we’ve had enough of you and your stuff.’ And so I just said, ‘Guys, you’ll get it when you’re 50.”

For context, “Jesus Jugs” is a nickname Bellino gained during her original run on “The Real Housewives of Orange County” when cast member Tamra Judge made mention of her breast implants. In speaking about her husband being against the procedure, she says he changed his mind after attending a consultation with her.

The ‘RHOC’ Alum Also Discussed Her Healing Process

IHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM'S Jingle Ball 2025 - Arrivals In Inglewood, US
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Later in the interview, Bellino revealed that the recovery process following her facelift was much different than her previous experiences with plastic surgery, which includes getting breast implants when she was in college. Notably, she says the procedure itself lasted for seven hours. She called it a “whole different animal.” 

According to her, “It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it was not easy.” She also shared that the left side of her face “took a little bit longer to catch up to the healing.” Still, she has faith that the results will soon “fully” settle.

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Bellino also stated that she plans to document the process on social media, noting how much she’s changed as she’s gotten more mature. She stated, “I think a decade or two ago I would’ve been affected by comments, and now I just don’t care.”

The “RHOC” alum added, “You’re just like, ‘Okay, take it, or leave it. This is who I am.’ You know who you love; your circle is very small. I want women to feel empowered.” She then spoke about how her life has changed following the facelift.

The 49-year-old explained, “I don’t wear makeup now when I go out. I don’t worry about my laugh lines. If I feel better, then why not? That’s what the doctors are here for.” Regarding future procedures, Bellino plans to have her breast implants removed.

Bellino took to Instagram on August 2 to share more thoughts on her recent facelift, noting the busy year she’s had, including her wedding to Janssen. She shared, “9 months, 2 weddings, 1 facelift….yep, it’s been a happy, busy stinking year. The photo on the left was my wedding to my love @johnwjanssen in October. The photo on the right is my son’s wedding this July.”

She continued, “Only nine months later. No, I didn’t need a facelift; I know that’s what I will hear. But all I can say is thank you @drjlayke and @plastixdocs and @glossyskinlounge for giving me a full smile back!!!!” After that, she discussed the comments she received from her kids and Janssen ahead of the procedure, recalling them saying, “mom/wife you don’t need it, please don’t do it, what can we do to talk you out of it……”

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Bellino added, “But look at the results!!!! And now my husband and kids are all so happy with the results!!!!!! And truth is, it’s MY decision, not theirs.”

The Bravo Alum Had Complications With Her Breast Implants In 2025

RHOC star Alexis Bellino has undergone a glam makeover and is red carpet ready after a visit to a Beverly Hills plastic surgery.
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As mentioned, Bellino had her first plastic surgery procedure while in college. However, in 2025, the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star was forced to have a corrective procedure after experiencing leakage related to her breast implants.

She opened up to PEOPLE in May 2025, stating, “I was the first girl at the University of Missouri to ever get implants. It was the biggest deal ever. Everyone was in shock that I did that. And since then I’ve had three more.”

She then discussed her journey over the years, saying, “I had that corrected in 2022. Unfortunately, about six months after that surgery, the contracture started to come back again. Most of the time, when you have it, it does keep recurring.

Unfortunately, after a while, she began to experience a “shooting pain” that she eventually couldn’t avoid. She explained, “My left breast started to raise and swell to the point where not only is it uncomfortable and hard, but now it’s actually noticeable in photos.”

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She went on to have a corrective procedure in April 2025, but her doctor discovered that one of her breasts had ruptured. The implants were then removed, and she now has smaller ones.”

Alexis Recently Opened Up About Her ‘RHOC’ Return

IHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM'S Jingle Ball 2025 - Arrivals In Inglewood, US
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As mentioned, Bellino returned to “The Real Housewives of Orange County” in 2024 as a friend of the show. However, her return proved controversial, with fans of the series targeting her. During a recent episode of the “Reality With the King” podcast, she opened up about the aftermath, revealing that she sought therapy.

According to her, “I mean, I was in therapy, I was getting death threats, I was crying every night on John’s shoulder like, ‘What did I do? Why did I go back?’” She added, “I went off social media for like four months. I didn’t post anything. My kids were like worried, and they’re like, ‘Mom, we hate what’s happening to you.’”

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4 Fleetwood Mac Albums That Are 10/10, No Notes

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10 Classic Rock Albums To Listen to If You Love Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Album of All Time

There’s a whole complex history to Fleetwood Mac, to the point where it’s hard to know how to even classify the band in terms of where they’re from. They were initially an English band, with the five founding members – Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood – all hailing from that part of the world. There was some success during the band’s early years, but even after just a few albums, things were shifting rapidly. By 1973, only McVie and Fleetwood (the bass guitarist and drummer, respectively) remained as members of the band, though Christine McVie (at the time married to John) joined as a vocalist and keyboardist, and then by the mid-1970s, the band had added a pair of American musicians: Lindsey Buckingham, who became the lead guitarist and vocalist, and Stevie Nicks, who was another vocalist for the band.

The lineup of the two McVies, Fleetwood, Buckingham, and Nicks is the classic one, and it did remain stable for quite some time, at least by Fleetwood Mac’s standards. There was instability, quite infamously, within the band in other regards, as John and Christine McVie separated in 1976, and Buckingham and Nicks – who weren’t married, but had been partners for several years – also separated that same year. The professional stability, so to speak, lasted until near the end of the 1980s, and then there were some reformations and people coming and going, which is further complicated, but also not super relevant if you just want to talk about the best of the best Fleetwood Mac albums. The band’s four outright masterful albums all came out between 1975 and 1987, and they’re perfect pop/rock releases that have helped cement Fleetwood Mac (or maybe that particularly classic lineup of Fleetwood Mac) as one of the undeniably best bands of their era.

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4

‘Fleetwood Mac’ (1975)

All that history in the intro was a bit arduous to get through, even with it being simplified, but it goes some way toward explaining why Fleetwood Mac (1975) was a self-titled album, and deserved to be one, too, even if it was technically the tenth Fleetwood Mac album overall. It was also the second self-titled album, after the band’s 1968 debut, which is sometimes called Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac to differentiate it from 1975’s Fleetwood Mac. The latter’s self-titled because this is a formal introduction to the new Fleetwood Mac; the lineup that would become legendary, and one that clicks in such a way that it’s quite surprising to think about how new Buckingham and Nicks were to the band, at this point. The former has lead vocals on four out of 11 songs, and a fifth where he shares lead vocals with Christine McVie, who then also has solo lead vocals on four songs. This leaves Nicks with “only” two, but those two songs are definite highlights, since they’re “Rhiannon” and “Landslide.”

Fleetwood Mac does feel like a bit of a warm-up for the even more legendary Fleetwood Mac album that was only a couple of years away, even down to the fact that the album covers for both are kind of similar (the same photographer, Herbert W. Worthington, was behind both). It is still a great album, though, and if it had marked Fleetwood Mac’s peak, as a band, then that’d remain a pretty great creative peak. Things just got even better artistically over the next decade or so, and the band’s 1977 album is a definite refinement of everything that already worked well (the gentle/soft rock sound, the catchy melodies paired with bittersweet lyrics, the variety of three talented/distinct-sounding vocalists being cycled between, etc.) on this self-titled album.

3

‘Tango in the Night’ (1987)

It is an incredibly 1980s album, and that can be a bit of a shock if you listen to Tango in the Night after being more acquainted with Fleetwood Mac’s efforts from the back half of the 1980s. The pop sound and that reliably immediate songwriting are retained, but then come the synthesizers, and therein lies the 80s-ness. And it wasn’t the band’s first 1980s album, but it was the first that had that real synth-heavy/1980s sound, since 1982’s Mirage stuck to the pop/soft rock. Mirage is good, but not a classic. It has “Gypsy,” which is a beloved Fleetwood Mac song, and then a bunch of other pretty good songs, but not enough to make the whole album go from “pretty good” to “pretty great.” Tango in the Night fares a lot better as far as highlights are concerned. Also, it might well be the Christine McVie show, since she has lead vocals on a fair few of those highlights, and then was credited with doing the keyboards and synthesizers (again, the album’s heavy on the latter, though Buckingham was also credited with doing keyboard and synthesizer work on the album).

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Tango in the Night (is) easy to listen to, from front to back, and the consistency is such that no songs leap out as being weak or like they should’ve been cut.

Sticking with McVie, though, she did the lead vocals on “Everywhere” and “Little Lies,” which are the two biggest songs on the album, and also on “Isn’t It Midnight,” which is probably the most underrated song on Tango in the Night, or at least the best comparative deep cut. Stevie Nicks shines on “Seven Wonders,” which is probably the third-best song here, and then when it comes to everything else, it’s all good. A handful of amazing songs, and then a slightly bigger handful of very good songs. But it’s enough to keep Tango in the Night easy to listen to, from front to back, and the consistency is such that no songs leap out as being weak or like they should’ve been cut. If the production with its distinctly 1980s sound turns you off, then that’s a shame… but also a little understandable, because the 80s is strong with this one.

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2

‘Tusk’ (1979)

Tusk is a wild album, and the sort that is honestly kind of surprising to see within Fleetwood Mac’s discography, in a good way. Hell, maybe even in a great way. It’s a go-for-broke sort of album that doesn’t feel restrained, with it being 20 songs long and almost 75 minutes all up. Yes, a double album, without a doubt, and one of the better double albums of that pre-CD era when a double album meant something. It might not quite be London Calling, Blonde on Blonde, or Electric Ladyland, but Tusk also isn’t far off. It keeps things consistent, and there aren’t any outright bad songs here. The more forgettable tracks are only a couple of minutes long, and they’re only forgettable if you want to compare them to the highlights from Tusk… namely, “Sara.” And “Sara” is not a short song, by any means, at 6:26, but it doesn’t feel much longer than three or four minutes.

“Sara” might well be the best Fleetwood Mac song. A hot/bold take? Maybe. There are lots of great Fleetwood Mac songs. It has some serious competition. But it’s one hell of an emotional slower song, perhaps standing out to a particularly great extent on Tusk because this album’s a little more upbeat and energetic than most other classic Fleetwood Mac albums. It’s an anxious sort of energy, with Tusk indeed feeling like it was written and recorded during a tumultuous time in the band’s history. As they did with their best album, two years before Tusk, all that angst was channeled into something great, albeit in a more (intentionally) unstable-sounding way on Tusk. It’s the kind of album a band can only make once they’ve established themselves and proved immensely successful, being like the music equivalent of a blank-check movie. Here, Fleetwood Mac did indeed seize the opportunity and then some.

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1

‘Rumours’ (1977)

Already alluded to as a refinement of 1975’s Fleetwood Mac, and the sort of album successful enough to ensure the band could cut loose in 1979, with Tusk, here’s Rumours. It is inevitable that this gets highlighted as Fleetwood Mac’s best album. It might be boring to say that, but it is just true. Another reason to go through Fleetwood Mac’s history, and the romantic relationships between certain members, is because Rumours came out in 1977, and that was one year on from two break-ups within the band. Further emotional and romantic turmoil ensued beyond that, but those two break-ups combine to make for the main catalyst of Rumours being the album that it is. It’s one of the ultimate break-up albums, and maybe even the ultimate one if you’re looking for break-up albums that aren’t exclusively made up of ballads.

There are ballads here, sure, but then highlights like “Go Your Own Way” and “The Chain” deal with intense emotional turmoil while also sounding energetic. Those two tracks, and some others that at least sound upbeat, are spread out well throughout Rumours, consistently contrasting well with the slower songs. This is easily one of the best pop albums of all time, and there is enough by way of a rock sound to also make it definitive as far as all-time great classic rock albums are concerned, too. Rumours is just that good (as good as everyone says it is), and so what more is there to say? It’s Rumours.

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Every MCU movie, ranked from worst to best

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From “Iron Man” to “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” we ranked every MCU movie from worst to best.

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Yahya Abdul-Mateen Reacts As Marvel Pulls Plug On ‘Wonder Man’

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Launch Event Of Marvel Television's Wonder Man

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is looking on the bright side after news broke that Marvel Studios will no longer move forward with a second season of “Wonder Man.”

Reacting to the surprising update, the actor admitted that setbacks are simply part of the business before thanking fans who embraced the series and ending his message with a confident promise: “See you at the Emmys.”

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has broken his silence after Marvel Studios decided not to move forward with a second season of “Wonder Man” on Disney+.

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In a recent Instagram post, the Emmy-winning actor reflected on the uncertainty that comes with working in Hollywood but made it clear he wasn’t dwelling on the disappointment.

“Word just dropped that Wonder Man won’t be coming back for Season 2. (And if you don’t knowww, now ya knoww!),” he wrote. “That’s life, right? Everything will shake out.”

Abdul-Mateen Thanks Fans For Embracing ‘Wonder Man’

Launch Event Of Marvel Television's Wonder Man
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The actor went on to thank viewers who supported the series, saying the show’s impact mattered far more than its short run.

Reflecting on the response from audiences, Abdul-Mateen wrote, “The show worked,” adding that seeing YouTube reaction videos, reading fan messages, and meeting viewers in person reminded him why the project meant so much.

“I could see it on the faces of the YouTube Reactors (because I watched along with y’all this time. Shoutout to y’all) … and I feel it in the genuine love shared when I bump into some of you all during the day. So, thinking of you all today.”

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He concluded, “I’m glad we got to be a part of something cool. Thank you for watching… And uhh… See you at the Emmys.”

Fans Mourn Marvel’s Surprise Decision

Fans quickly flooded the comments section with messages of disappointment, saying they weren’t ready to say goodbye to the series.

“I’m crushed, show was sooo good!” one Instagram user wrote, while another added, “This is some BS man. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Wonder Man!”

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A third fan commented, “You were sooo good on this. Killing me, I can’t see the continuation. Your work is just amazing.” Another wrote, “Nah, this is unreal, man. I didn’t know what to expect from this show, and it turned out to be one of Marvel TV’s top shows.”

‘Wonder Man’ Seemed Destined To Continue

Launch Event Of Marvel Television's Wonder Man
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The cancellation came as a surprise because “Wonder Man” performed well with critics, earning a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Disney had also announced in March that the series would return for a second season, roughly two months after its debut. However, Variety later reported that a writers’ room was never opened and the creative team was ultimately released to pursue other projects.

The series starred Abdul-Mateen as Simon Williams, a stuntman and actor who develops superpowers while trying to keep his new identity hidden. Ben Kingsley reprised his role as Trevor Slattery, with X Mayo, Demetrius Grosse, Zlatko Burić, Arian Moayed, and Olivia Thirlby rounding out the cast. The series was created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest.

Reviewing the show, Alison Herman praised its leads, writing, “Abdul-Mateen and Kingsley make their characters equally ridiculous and romantic.”

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Although Marvel has not explained the cancellation, reports indicate the cast could still return in future Marvel projects.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen Still Has Emmy Glory In Sight

Launch Event Of Marvel Television's Wonder Man
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Despite the cancellation, Abdul-Mateen still has plenty to celebrate after earning a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Wonder Man.”

He previously won an Emmy for HBO’s “Watchmen,” making him the first live-action actor to receive Emmy nominations for performances in both Marvel and DC projects.

Following the nomination on July 9, Abdul-Mateen shared that he “woke up feeling so blessed” before crediting the cast and crew for helping make the recognition possible.

“It’s only right that this nomination also stands as an acknowledgement of the passion of everyone who helped put this show together,” he wrote. “To Marvel, Destin Cretton, Andrew Guest, Brian Gray, our cast and crew, the city of Los Angeles, the voters who saw my performance worthy of an Emmy nomination, and especially every single person who tuned in and dreamed, laughed, and cried alongside us… CHEERS and THANK YOU!!”

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Rosie O’Donnell returning to “The View” for season 30: ‘I will go’ with ‘all’ past cohosts

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O’Donnell also recalled a “tense time” with Whoopi Goldberg the last time she was at the Hot Topics table, while she publicly sparred with Elisabeth Hasselbeck in 2025.

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