Taylor Hanson shares seven kids with wife Natalie Hanson (née Bryant) — and the longtime couple couldn’t be happier about their big brood.

Taylor and Natalie, who have been married since June 2002, are the proud parents of son Ezra (born October 2002), daughter Penelope (born 2005), son River (born in September 2006), son Viggo (born December 2008), daughter Wilhelmina (born October 2012), Indiana (born December 2018) and daughter Maybellene (born December 2020).

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“I think what’s really cool about bigger families is that everybody develops this innate ability to figure out how to compromise, work with others and realize that the entire world doesn’t revolve around you,” the musician told Today’s Parent in 2017. “It also encourages you to be an individual because you can clearly see your differences from a brother or sister. I see that with my kids: They’re very different, but I see that they love and respect one another.”

Taylor, for his part, also grew up as one of seven. As fans know, the three eldest Hanson siblings — Isaac, Taylor and Zac — formed their titular band in 1992 when they were just children themselves. The Hanson family also includes brother Joshua Mackenzie and sisters Jessica Grace, Avery Laurel and Zoe.

Keep scrolling to learn more about Taylor’s family:

Snoopy is a comic-strip character who somehow became bigger than the strip itself. Part of that comes from how easily Charles M. Schulz could reinvent him without ever making him feel inconsistent. The cartoonist used the beagle’s wild imagination to give him hilarious personalities and storylines that continue to define Peanuts.

That range gave Schulz decades of material, but it also makes choosing the character’s most memorable moments surprisingly difficult. That is not to take credit away from the strip’s other incredible characters, but there is just something about Snoopy that makes him impossible to outshine. To prove that, here are the five best Snoopy comics ever, ranked.

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Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

Image via Peanuts Worldwide

What better way to understand Snoopy’s wild imagination than his never-ending battle with the Red Baron? In the October 10, 1965, strip, Snoopy climbed onto his doghouse, imagined it was a British Sopwith Camel fighter plane, and became the World War I Flying Ace for the first time. His mission was to find the Red Baron and shoot him down. Of course, nothing went according to plan. Now, the Red Baron was based on real German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, but Schulz never actually drew Snoopy’s enemy into the strip, which made the rivalry even funnier.

Readers only experience these enormous aerial battles through Snoopy, who sits on top of an ordinary doghouse while imagining gunfire, enemy planes, emergency landings, and heroic missions across Europe. The joke works because Snoopy never treats any of it like make-believe. To him, the danger is very real, and the Red Baron absolutely must be defeated. The whole concept started as one gag but became one of Snoopy’s defining alter egos, even when the enemy himself never appeared on the page.

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Happiness Is a Warm Puppy

Image via Peanuts Worldwide

Some of the best Peanuts comics aren’t the funny ones. The April 25, 1960, strip simply has Lucy walk over to Snoopy, pat him on the head, pull him into a hug, and then leave after saying, “Happiness is a warm puppy.” It is an unusually sweet moment for Lucy, who normally has a far more complicated relationship with Snoopy. In fact, she regularly gets annoyed by Snoopy’s behavior and is especially disgusted whenever he tries to kiss her, while Snoopy seems to enjoy getting under her skin. That makes this rare moment of genuine affection between the two feel even sweeter.

It’s also a testament to Schulz’s brilliant ability to find something surprisingly big in an ordinary childhood moment. Even Snoopy’s reaction sells the idea, as his expression goes from pleased to completely content the second Lucy wraps her arms around him. What makes this strip even more memorable is what happened afterward. The phrase became so popular that Schulz used it as the basis for the 1962 book Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, which offered more little definitions of happiness from the Peanuts world and spent 45 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. Just like that, a four-panel interaction between Lucy and Snoopy had somehow become one of the defining moments associated with Peanuts.

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Joe Cool’s First Appearance

Image via Peanuts Worldwide

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Snoopy has imagined himself as everything, but none of his alter egos are as effortlessly ridiculous as Joe Cool. The character first appeared in the May 27, 1971, Peanuts strip, when Snoopy suddenly decided he was a college student hanging around the student union. Linus even plays along by asking how he did in chemistry class, but Joe Cool has bigger concerns. He thinks chemistry is a drag, and being seen around campus is clearly much more important. That first strip is simple but already contains almost everything that makes Joe Cool work.

All Snoopy needs to turn into him are his sunglasses and an extremely laid-back attitude. Later strips expanded the joke by turning his doghouse into a dorm room and letting Joe spend more time around the student union while he chased the college experience without showing much interest in actually going to class. The official Peanuts description still calls him the “ultimate big beagle on campus,” which is about as accurate as it gets. More than anything, Joe Cool works because he exaggerates a side of Snoopy that was already there. The character has never suffered from a lack of confidence, but Joe Cool turns that into an entire personality.

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Dark and Stormy Night – World’s Shortest Novel

Image via Peanuts Worldwide

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Snoopy may be a terrible novelist, but nobody can question his commitment to the craft. His writing career officially began in the July 12, 1965, Peanuts strip, when he dragged a typewriter onto the roof of his doghouse and began with the immortal words, “It was a dark and stormy night.” From there, Snoopy’s world-famous author persona became one of Schulz’s funniest recurring ideas, as the beagle spent years trying to write the great American novel from the least original opening imaginable.

The joke was even smarter than it first appeared. Of course, Snoopy did not invent the sentence. It comes from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel Paul Clifford and had already become a famous example of overwrought writing by the time Schulz borrowed it. That was exactly the point, though, as Snoopy approached the cliché with complete seriousness. Schulz took the gag even further in 1971 with Snoopy and “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night,” a published book built around Snoopy’s adventures as an author. The actual novel may not be much, but as a Peanuts joke about ambition and confidence, the strip is still perfect.

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Snoopy’s First Appearance

Image via Peanuts Worldwide

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Any list like this would obviously be incomplete without Snoopy’s actual debut. It is almost strange to look back at Snoopy before he became the character he is today. He made his first Peanuts appearance on October 4, 1950, just two days after Schulz launched the strip. The character’s introduction doesn’t feature his iconic doghouse or any mention of his many personas. Instead, the strip shows Snoopy wandering beneath Patty’s window box and ending up soaked when she waters her flowers.

This simple moment turns the future star of Peanuts into the punchline of a hilarious visual gag. What’s fascinating is how early Snoopy actually behaved much more like an ordinary dog, while the huge personality and imagination that would eventually define him came much later. Nobody reading this tiny four-panel joke could have known that the nameless little dog would eventually become a novelist, fighter pilot, college heartthrob, and arguably the most recognizable character any comic strip has ever produced. The first Snoopy strip is not his funniest or most imaginative adventure, but as beginnings go, it feels extremely special in hindsight.

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Diddy is speaking out after his lawyers reportedly filed a motion to withdraw from a civil lawsuit, citing unpaid legal fees. Three of Diddy’s attorneys claimed that the music mogul hasn’t paid legal fees for six months. However, Diddy denied the claims, saying the unpaid fees are part of a business dispute.

RELATED: Welcome Home Soon-ish? Diddy’s Prison Release Date Reportedly Changes Again

Diddy Denies Attorneys’ Claim Of Unpaid Legal Fees

Aht! Aht! Diddy isn’t having it after his attorneys claimed that he hasn’t paid their legal fees in more than six months. The music mogul released a statement after the lawyers filed a motion seeking removal from a civil lawsuit, according to USA Today.

Michael Tremonte, Katie Renzler, and Erica Wolff from Sher Tremonte LLP had been representing Combs in a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit was reportedly filed against music manager Courtney Burgess after he claimed to have video footage of Comb’s freak-offs. Nexstar Media and Burgess’ attorney, Ariel Mitchell, were also named in the complaint.

Tremonte filed its motion to withdraw as Diddy’s counsel on Monday, September 14. Diddy is serving time in federal prison after being convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs’ release date is reportedly in 2028, and he reportedly responded to the attorneys’ claims via his representative, Juda Engelmayer. The statement was published on Wednesday, September 16, via USA Today.

Diddy says that he decided to change attorneys because he was being overcharged by the law firm.

“I made the decision to switch lawyers because I won’t let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved,” reads the statement. “This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges.”

His Attorneys’ Claim Unpaid Legal Fees

Tremonte and his firm were defending Combs in his $100 million defamation lawsuit, and he claims the 56-year-old hasn’t paid legal fees in “over six months.”

Furthermore, the attorney claims that the Bad Boy Records founder hasn’t made himself available for direct communication for several months, per NBC News.

“The Firm’s representation has been rendered unreasonably difficult by Mr. Combs’s lack of cooperation, resulting in a breakdown in attorney-client communications and rendering Sher Tremonte incapable of continuing to provide effective legal services to Mr. Combs,” claimed Tremonte, adding that Diddy “declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications…”

Lawyer Doubled Down Following Diddy’s Denial

Tremonte responded after the 56-year-old claimed he’d been overcharged by his law firm, according to NBC News. The attorney reiterated his claim that the mogul was uncooperative while calling the overcharge accusation “false.”

“As stated in our court filings, we are withdrawing from representing him because he has not paid his long-overdue invoices and has become uncooperative,” he said. “Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.”

Furthermore, Tremonte claimed that there’s been a “total breakdown in cooperation and communication between Mr. Combs and the Firm.”

RELATED: Been About Him! Yung Miami Spills Tea About Her Relationship Status & The Internet Immediately Brings Up Diddy (VIDEOS)

Remy Ma has been in her bag with Millyz after they dropped their joint record, ‘Say Yea.’ But chile, their lil’ love fest might be extending way past the music! Rem recently shared a cozy clip with Millyz on social media, and now fans can’t help but wonder what’s really going on between them. One fan threw Dr. Umar Johnson in the mix, joking that he wouldn’t approve of Rem and Millyz getting too close. Remy didn’t stay quiet though, she made it clear that she already knows Dr. Umar wouldn’t be here for it!

RELATED: Whew! Millyz Shares SPICY BTS Clips With Remy Ma & Social Media Immediately Mentions Papoose (VIDEO) 

Fan Mentions Dr. Umar Johnson After Remy Ma & Millyz’s Cozy Moment

Recently, Remy Ma came through with a VERY cozy video on Instagram alongside Millyz set to their new single, ‘Say Yea.’ The clip showed them turning up the flirty vibes while posted up in what looked like a bathroom. Once Rem dropped the footage on Instagram, fans wasted NO time flooding her comment section with questions. And trust, Rem was peeping the reactions! When one fan hit her with, “What in the Dr. Umar?” Rem hilariously begged them to leave him OUT of the chat, admitting that she already knows Dr. Umar would go IN on her for linking up with Millyz. “Nah don’t call him over here He already threatened me after the last bts video that I better not let my sacred waters get swam in or my blueberry cobbler eaten or something like that 😂😭,” Remy wrote.

Rem didn’t stop there. After another fan questioned whether she was under the influence because of she was acting in the clip, Rem quickly shut down the speculation. She reminded folks that she has always stayed away from substances and doesn’t drink alcohol. “I don’t get ‘drunk’ or ‘high’ EVERYONE knows that about me. My childhood was damn near destroyed due to drugs & alcohol. NEVER IN MY LIFE was that a thing like EVER babes.” 

The Timeline Is In SHAMBLES Over Remy & Millyz

The reactions to Remy Ma and Millyz’s link-up kept rolling in over in The Shade Room’s comment section. Some Roomies joked that they already know Dr. Umar Johnson would have a whole bunch of analogies ready about Remy and Millyz, while others skipped straight to the real tea and demanded answers about what’s REALLY going on between the two rappers.

Instagram user @damtre wrote, “Dr. Umar stay wit the analogies 😭” 

Instagram user @calandra_quan_terio wrote, “If this was Clarissa and Papoose doing this y’all would have alot to say (Double Standards)” 

While Instagram user @jasi.walkerr wrote, “Maybe .. let people be? She clearly made a choice lol.” 

Then Instagram user @bouncingbackwithbeee wrote, “Pap some where screaming JEZEBEL!! 😂😂😂😂” 

Another Instagram user @bajanhaitian wrote, “From bootleg papoose to bootleg vanilla ice is nasty work 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 😭😭😭😭😭❗🤦🏿🤦🏿🤦🏿” 

Instagram user @shesthegoods wrote, “sis just take pap back you not happy he not happy 😂😂😂” 

While another Instagram user @_trinthaproblem_ wrote, “lol y’all don’t know promo when y’all see it.” 

Then another Instagram user @kweenmocha wrote, “Remy needa go ahead and reshuffle the deck cus ion like this 😢” 

Finally, Instagram user @shayshellz wrote, “Remy playing in the snow ❄️” 

Remy & Millyz Previously Had Fans Calling Papoose To The Front

Fans have been keeping a close eye on Remy Ma and Millyz ever since they dropped some behind-the-scenes clips from their ‘Say Yea’ music video on Instagram. One clip really took over the internet after the two looked extra boo’d up and cozy. Of course, fans wasted no time dragging Papoose into the mix, with some even calling for him to step to the front and say a few words. Whew! Peep the video here.

RELATED: Whew! Remy Ma & Millyz Have Fans In Their Feelings After Sharing A Steamy Clip (VIDEO) 

Kandi Burruss is making it clear that some parts of her marriage should have stayed behind closed doors.

The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum’s response comes after Todd Tucker revealed intimate details about their 11-year marriage after they finalized their divorce.

Kandi Burruss and Tucker first met while filming “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” in 2011. They got engaged in January 2013 and married in April 2014.

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Tucker recently revealed that he and Burruss invited third parties into their bedroom during their marriage. The 53-year-old discussed the intimate detail in the trailer for his upcoming film, “Til Divorce Do Us Part.” When asked about inviting other people into their bedroom, Tucker confirmed that they did.

“We did. I would say for most of our marriage we did,” Tucker said. The comment came during a conversation with “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum Peter Thomas. Thomas then joked about being a saint in his own failed marriage to Cynthia Bailey.

Burruss responded by criticizing Tucker for publicly discussing their private life. “What consensually happens between a husband and wife in the privacy of their marriage is exactly that—private,” she said. She also accused her ex of sensationalizing their s-x life to stretch his “five minutes of fame.”

The singer said Tucker’s behavior has further confirmed her decision to end their marriage. “A man who has already hurt me to my core is furthering the damage,” she said.

PEOPLE shared her ending statement, which contained a clear message: “I Do, I Did, I’m Done!” The reality star went public with the divorce on November 21, 2025. She announced the divorce while asking for privacy and thanking everyone who supported her. 

Tucker Turns His Divorce Experience Into A New Creative Project

Tucker’s bedroom revelation came while promoting his upcoming film about life after divorce. The project features conversations about moving forward after a marriage ends. He has described his divorce experience as something he hopes can educate others.

The Blast reported that Tucker admitted making plenty of mistakes throughout the process. He said divorce was never easy and that he never imagined becoming separated from his partner. His latest project appears to center on the lessons he says came from that experience.

Tucker also promoted the film with an Instagram caption encouraging fans to get tickets. The trailer included several conversations about moving on after divorce and starting over.

He received plenty of attention from fans following the film’s promotional post. More than 3,000 people left comments reacting to his creative idea and the former-husband concept. “Well, the scheme has finally arisen. I’m not mad at the concept,” a fan wrote.

Kandi Burruss & Todd Tucker Found A Way To Co-parent

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Despite the divorce, Burruss has previously shown that she still wants peace between herself and Tucker. She shared a heartwarming birthday message celebrating his 53rd birthday. “Happy birthday @todd167!!!!! I pray this next year brings you joy & success!” she wrote.

Burruss also encouraged her ex-husband to keep living his best life. Tucker reshared her message to his Instagram Stories and added his own. “My life is like a new album, a range of emotions!” he wrote.

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The former couple has also continued working on their relationship as co-parents. Burruss said they “co-parent well” and focus on whatever makes their children happy. She admitted she never expected they would eventually reach a point where they could keep things friendly.

She revealed that they could go on a family trip if the kids requested one. “Like, they wanna ‘Oh, why can’t we all take a trip together?’ OK, you want us both on the trip?” She admitted they have to figure out how to do the “co-parenting thing” together, as per The Blast

How The Former Couple Split Their Assets After Divorce 

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The divorce also required Burruss and Tucker to work through their finances and property. Burruss later explained that they divided their shared properties according to their joint ownership.

“We had properties together that we had to split equally,” she explained. She also addressed reports surrounding the more than $400,000 she was ordered to pay Tucker.

Burruss explained that the amount came from balancing the value of the properties each person received. She stressed that it was not simply money she had to hand over without an explanation.

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The singer reportedly took a 2022 Bentley SUV, a Cadillac Escalade, a Ford F-250, a Porsche Cayenne SUV, and a 1963 Chevrolet Camaro. At the same time, her ex-husband walks away with the 2020 Mercedes G-Wagon, a 2020 Porsche 911, a 2023 Range Rover, a 1973 Ford Bronco, a 1963 Lincoln, and a Ford Transit Van.

The former couple agreed to joint legal and physical custody of Ace and Blaze. Neither reportedly will receive child support or spousal support under their final agreement.

Burruss was also allowed to keep the children’s passports while making them available for international travel. The couple also agreed to sell their shared food truck and divided their individual assets. The Blast reported that Tucker also paid Burruss $38,000 to settle his share of their Atlanta Hawks season tickets.

Kandi Burruss Considered  Divorce Months Before Filing

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Burruss didn’t decide to end the marriage overnight. She later revealed that she had started considering divorce months before announcing it publicly. During a February appearance on “Watch What Happens Live,” she said she began thinking about filing in July 2025.

The reality star ultimately filed in November after giving the decision considerable thought. She said the choice came after deep thought and a lot of prayer. When Andy Cohen asked what fueled the decision, Burruss said there was a specific incident that made her think, “Yeah, nah, I can’t do this anymore.”

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She did not reveal that incident during the interview. Instead, she emphasized that the decision had followed deep thought and prayer. That timeline gives more context to her November announcement and her decision to walk away. At the time, Burruss said she wanted to protect her peace and focus on motherhood.

It might not seem like it now, but in its early days, Star Trek was an underdog. Despite earning a dedicated fanbase with younger demographics during its three-year run, the original 1960s series wasn’t a ratings smash. NBC cancelled the ambitious sci-fi excursion after three seasons, and there’s a good chance Star Trek wouldn’t have made it that far without a combination of good luck and powerful behind-the-scenes allies (like entertainment powerhouse Lucille Ball). Trek‘s evolution into a franchise powerhouse was a tenuous undertaking from the beginning: although supportive of creator Gene Roddenberry‘s “Western in space” concept, NBC ordered a second pilot after deeming Roddenberry’s first offering “too cerebral” (not to mention the episode’s roughly $500,000 budget, a whopping price tag for the time). In this inaugural attempt, titled “The Cage,” film actor Jeffrey Hunter played Christopher Pike, the captain of the Enterprise and the series’ leading man. However, when the second pilot hit the airwaves, Pike was nowhere to be found. Instead, viewers were greeted by the swaggering charm of franchise staple Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Why didn’t Trek‘s main performer return for the full series?

Why Did Captain Pike Leave ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’?

Before his brief stint with Trek, Hunter had been a consistently working character actor and leading man for over a decade. Although not a superstar, he was known to audiences for high-profile roles like Jesus Christ in the ancient Biblical epic King of Kings and his supporting turn in John Wayne’s Western classic The Searchers; superstar Marilyn Monroe even called him “the acme of young American manhood.” Eventually, Hunter branched into television after feeling “dissatisfied with the roles being offered to him in films,” calling them “cotton candy, college-sophomore” scripts that capitalized on his looks.

His search for satisfyingly in-depth opportunities led him to Star Trek. However, Hunter ultimately refused Gene Roddenberry’s offer to reprise Captain Pike for a revamped series order, despite Roddenberry reportedly “set[ting] up a special screening of ‘The Cage’ […] in hopes of convincing the actor to stick with the project.” Hunter explained his decision during an interview with the Milwaukee Journal in 1965:

“I was asked to do it, I would have been tied up much longer than I care to be. I have several things brewing now and they should be coming to a head in the next few weeks. I love doing motion pictures and expect to be as busy as I want to be in them.”

Captain Pike Still Became an Important ‘Star Trek’ Character

In hindsight, it’s easy to extrapolate a scenario where Hunter continued with Star Trek and became as vital a part of Trek iconography as Shatner’s Kirk: the first onscreen captain and, therefore, essentially the face of the franchise. At the time, however, Star Trek probably seemed like a risky gamble to those involved. Certainly, few could have anticipated the worldwide entertainment titan it would become. It makes sense why Hunter chose to return to the film world’s familiar and flexible work over being tied down to an ongoing series.

Tragically, Hunter passed away in 1969, only four years after filming his single Star Trek episode. Hunter seemed to appreciate the series’ vision, having praised its ideology: “Except for the fictional characters,” he said, “it will be like getting a look into the future, and some of the predictions will surely come true in our lifetime.” Even though NBC never officially aired “The Cage,” Hunter still made his mark on Star Trek lore; before “The Cage” became widely available through special edition DVDs, a two-part episode from Season 1, “The Menagerie,” recycled the majority of Hunter’s footage into a flashback format resolving Pike’s story (played by Sean Kenney in Hunter’s stead).

Decades later, director J.J. Abrams’ first two prequel films incorporated the character (Bruce Greenwood) as a mentor to Chris Pine‘s youthful Kirk, while the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fully explores Pike’s (Anson Mount) years at the Enterprise helm. For the brief time he was onscreen, Hunter gave Captain Pike dignity, curiosity, and a brooding, responsible charisma that was more somber than flirtatious: the epitome of an era-appropriate hero who happened to be a futuristic space explorer.

Mystery novels are among the most popular today, but a good mystery isn’t all that easy to write. The earliest noted example of the modern, typical detective novel is The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, which established many of the modern tropes of crime and mystery storytelling, but that boundary is constantly pushed by new writers who understand the genre’s conventions and add their own twist to it.

Many classic and modern mystery novels deserve to be adapted for the screen, but the question is, how well can that truly be done? Some novels are best experienced on paper, where we’re submerged into the psyche of the protagonist, effectively becoming him. No other medium (except perhaps video games) can make the viewer/reader feel as if they’re in the story themselves. The following mystery novels would be amazing adaptations if done correctly; their television versions could easily make us feel as if we’re the main character and yet present the protagonist with a certain objectivity, adding a spice to the main twist and building worlds that may have been hard to imagine while reading. Here are mystery books that deserve a TV adaptation.

‘Time Out of Joint’ (1959)

Image via Gollancz

Fans of classic science fiction and its literary godfather, Philip K. Dick, know about Time Out of Joint all too well. This is one of the maybe lesser-known books by Dick, whose works have had numerous film and TV adaptations thus far (the most notable being the Blade Runner franchise). Time Out of Joint is a classic sci-fi story, so it may not classify as a mystery to some, but its plot and atmosphere around the first half of the novel are built on a tightly wound unknown that drives the protagonist crazy and makes him question his own sanity. If there was a proper comparison, this novel would be the grandfather of The Truman Show and Severance, though there are other shows that match the plot well.

Time Out of Joint follows Ragle Gumm, who lives in an idyllic and typical American small town in 1959. Ragle has a unique talent, where he plays the local newspaper’s game called “Where Will The Little Green Man Be Next?” guessing the answer correctly every single time and getting a cash prize for it. This makes Ragle somewhat of a local celebrity, and he lives happily until one day, things in his world begin to disappear and appear without a good explanation. Ragle dives deeper into his investigation, and his world suddenly flips upside down. Time Out of Joint is an incredible novel, full of intense moments, surprising twists, and a satisfying ending. Adapting it to modern times wouldn’t be difficult, but getting the atmosphere right might take some trial and error. Either way, this Philip K. Dick novel only needs a dedicated showrunner—the story itself is already perfect.

‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ (1926)

Image via William Collins, Sons

OK, so yes, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd does have its place on TV already: the Poirot series starring David Suchet adapted the book into a feature-length episode, and there’s even a Japanese feature film based on it, but there’s not an actual series. Anyone who reads Agatha Christie often knows exactly why The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a gem among her other works; the unusual twist really delivers a stunner and shifts the entire novel on its side. The precision of the storytelling that Agatha Christie delivers in this novel is pretty much her magnum opus; a typical murder mystery on the surface, Roger Ackroyd is a methodically written slow-burn that hides its central mystery brilliantly.

Hercule Poirot is summoned to solve the death of the wealthy widower Roger Ackroyd, and he is aided by Dr. James Sheppard, who was called to the scene by Ackroyd’s assistant. Poirot and Sheppard work on consolidating their clues and motives of various people who attended a dinner at Ackroyd’s home on the night of his death. The narrator of the novel, though, is not a third party or Poirot, but Sheppard himself, who observes clues and Poirot at work with attention to detail and great dedication. Sheppard and Poirot are a formidable team, and a methodical and clever showrunner could really make this duo stand out. With so many Poirot adaptations, though, Roger Ackroyd may not be a priority to many writers. However, that’s not even the biggest problem, but the fact that serving justice to the best crime novel of all time might be a big bite to take after all.

‘The Silver Road’ (2018)

Image via Corvus

Nordic noir is definitely worthy of adapting for TV screens, and though there are many examples of good novels in the genre, The Silver Road by Stina Jackson is unique and carries special weight. Unlike most Nordic noirs, it doesn’t follow a detective solving a murder mystery but a grieving father who refuses to let go of his missing daughter. The novel depicts the backwoods of Sweden, way up in the north where it’s colder, houses are far away from each other, and boredom often prevails without much to be done about it. Jackson writes with incredible empathy and precision, driving the wedge of grief further into her protagonist. But the book doesn’t stop at being a process of sadness; rather, it turns very quickly into a mystery that grows sinister with each page. It’s a brilliant debut novel, awarded with the Best Swedish Novel award in 2018.

Lelle, a high school teacher in a remote town in Sweden, searches for his missing 17-year-old daughter Lina every single day. She disappeared on the road known as the Silver Road three years before, where Lelle dropped her off at the bus station when she was headed to school. He drives past, investigates decrepit houses, and asks about Lina wherever he can. At the same time, now 17-year-old Meija arrives in town and becomes Lelle’s new student; Meija comes from a dysfunctional home and doesn’t have the parental support any child should expect, and after another girl who looks like Lina disappears, Lelle and Meija become integral parts of the search for the culprits. This could be a very well-made slow-burn mystery series with the right showrunners, but the focus would have to be on Lelle’s intensifying guilt and self-isolation in parallel with the increasing looming dread of Meija’s loneliness. It wouldn’t be an easy show, but it would be brilliant if it were made anything like the novel.

‘Strange Houses’ (2021)

Image via Pushkin Vertigo

Strange Houses was a social media phenomenon when it came out because it’s not like other mystery novels. Strange Houses literally features house plans spread out across its pages, where the readers aren’t meant to just parse through lines of text and inhale the mystery but take a long, hard look at the houses featured in the novel and make their own conclusions. Strange Houses is a bona fide mystery that combines modern journalism with Japanese tradition and folklore, and its author is just as mysterious as the book itself. Known only as Uketsu, this creator is best known for his YouTube career and hiding behind a white, faceless papier-mâché mask. Uketsu creates videos about unsolved mysteries across Japan, and though his content is only in Japanese, his published novels have been translated into numerous languages across the globe.

Strange Houses is the first in the Strange series of novels (followed by Strange Pictures, Strange Buildings, and Strange Maps), and it follows an unnamed journalist in the first person as he is contacted to analyze a baffling house plan. We’re immediately confronted with it, and things seem off from the start; the child’s room is in a weird place, and why is there a triangle-shaped room no one can see? The journalist enlists the help of architect Kurihara, and together, they come to conclusions that become more and more shocking with each discovery. Strange Houses is an extremely fast read, but it’s such a fun novel that imagining it as a TV series is pretty much a given. There is already a feature film of the same name from 2024, but the adaptation was so bad compared to the book that the only way this brilliant, fast-paced, and super tense mystery novel could be given justice is by a TV series.

‘Drood’ (2009)

Image via Quercus

The task of adapting the colossal and magnificent Drood for TV screens remains one of the hardest things to do, according to Guillermo del Toro, at least. When Dan Simmons wrote it, he made sure to combine fact with fiction in such an immersive and intricate way that a lot of the things featured in the two-novel story feel like they’ve actually happened. Simmons is known for writing stories like that, and his audacious approach to these things has often been a hit-or-miss with audiences, from the gargantuan Abominable to the more TV-friendly The Terror. Still, many readers love Simmons and his weird proclivity for taking real-life mysteries and giving them his own, fictional, and often supernatural explanations—I am one of them. And to go back to del Toro, so is he. Del Toro tweeted out once that his script for Drood was completed and that it was one of the stories that took months of his life to finish; a lot of us, fans of the book and Simmons and del Toro, hope to still see this come to fruition in some way.

Drood is a two-part novel about the final five years of Charles Dickens‘ life, told from the perspective of writer Wilkie Collins (a full circle moment here, since Collins is mentioned as the creator of the first detective novel). Collins is friends with Dickens and often describes his daily routine and the process of writing his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. But Dickens leaves all of his writing aside to try and track down information about the man who calls himself Drood, one who saved him from certain death during a train accident in 1865. As Dickens searches obsessively, Collins helps him but descends further into opium usage due to his gout, becoming an unreliable narrator along the way. The mysterious circumstances of Dickens’ well-known unfinished novel are intertwined with a fictional, terrifying, and mysterious encounter with Drood, which Simmons turned into a stellar piece of reading. With each new page, you’re either getting frustrated with the dynamics of 19th-century England or absolutely stunned by the Count Orloff-esque appearances of Drood. It’s safe to say that Drood would need a clever adaptation that doesn’t take any of its parts for granted; it might even work better as a TV series.

Maura Higgins may have claimed she was nervous before her “Dancing with the Stars” debut, but one behavioral analyst believes her body language told a very different story. The “Love Island” alum topped the women’s leaderboard after performing a Foxtrot to Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet” with professional partner Mark Ballas.

However, body language expert Darren Stanton claimed Higgins displayed “extreme confidence” and appeared to hold more power in the partnership. He also alleged there was “no real connection” between the pair, despite their established friendship from “The Traitors.”

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Speaking to Covers, Stanton suggested Higgins’ red-carpet-style pose conflicted with her admission that she felt nervous before the performance. “It’s all about consistency. With Maura, she’s an extremely confident person, and she’s talking a good game,” he said.

“She’s making out that she was nervous, but if you look at the hands on her hips, this is a red carpet technique. It’s what Kim Kardashian and Beyonce do. It’s a contradiction to what she is saying. Maura would not have been delivering those behaviors if she was nervous,” Stanton added.

He interpreted her pose as evidence that Higgins was controlling how she presented herself to the audience. “Secondly, there were no signs of fear. I would say it was pure strategy. Maura is trying to be humble, but I know exactly what she is doing. She’s extremely focused and prepared for whatever is required to achieve her goal. Maura knows how to work the crowd and is very adept at building rapport,” he continued.

Maura Higgins Is Allegedly ‘Wearing The Trousers’

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Stanton also examined the dynamic between Higgins and Ballas following their first performance. “When it comes to the dynamics with her dance partner Mark Ballas, Maura is wearing the trousers in this collaboration. If you notice in shows such as ‘Strictly Come Dancing,’ usually the pair have their arms around each other and are tactile, despite there being absolutely no romance,” he explained.

The behavioral analyst suggested that Ballas appeared willing to let Higgins command the attention surrounding their partnership. “But here, there is no real connection between Maura and Mark. Although he is the dance expert, Mark is looking down a lot and is displaying signs of nervousness when he is around her,” he added. “That’s very interesting. Mark is allowing Maura to have center stage and he is not bothered about the press.”

His assessment appears to conflict with Higgins and Ballas’ own public description of their relationship. The pair recently pushed back against reports of behind-the-scenes tension and emphasized their friendship and mutual respect.

The Pair Topped The Women’s Leaderboard

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Whatever their offstage dynamic may be, Higgins and Ballas produced one of the strongest performances of the Season 35 premiere. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli each awarded the pair a seven, for a total score of 21 out of 30, which outscored actress and experienced dancer Jenna Dewan, who received 19 out of 30.

The result put Higgins at the top of the women’s leaderboard and ahead of contestants with more extensive performance experience.

Maura Higgins And Mark Ballas Bonded On ‘The Traitors’

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Higgins and Ballas already knew each other before being paired on “Dancing with the Stars.” Both appeared as Faithfuls on the same season of “The Traitors” and reportedly grew close while filming in the Scottish countryside.

Ballas said Higgins even discussed her interest in joining the dance competition while they were living in the castle. “When we were in the castle, she told me, ‘[I’d] love to do Dancing With the Stars.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, mate. You can’t make it through a 45-minute challenge. How are you going to make it through a five to 10-hour rehearsal?’” Ballas told Entertainment Weekly.

“And her answer, I was like, ‘Fair enough.’ She was like, ‘I don’t want to carry rocks in a backpack up a mountain throwing gold pebbles at stuff … but I want to learn how to dance,’” he added.

Maura Higgins Previously Shut Down Rob Rausch Romance Rumors

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Higgins’ time on “The Traitors” also sparked speculation about her relationship with fellow “Love Island” alum Rob Rausch. The two shared a flirtatious and comfortable rapport during the competition. However, Rausch was secretly a Traitor and ultimately convinced Higgins to banish Eric Nam, another Traitor. That decision left Higgins vulnerable, allowing Rausch to become the final remaining Traitor and win the entire $220,800 prize.

Despite speculation about their interactions, both Higgins and Rausch have insisted their relationship was always platonic. “I’m not gonna ruin it for the viewers, but no, nothing ever happened between me and Rob,” Higgins told Us Weekly in February 2026. “I genuinely look at Rob like a brother. Literally nothing ever happened.”

Higgins has now turned her focus to the ballroom, where her first-week score immediately established her as a serious competitor.

The longest-running late-night talk show quietly found a winning formula, and it’s rooted in an unexpected place. Rather than using sports as a punchline, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon made them a part of the show’s strategy. And with sports viewership surging, especially among the youngest and most coveted audiences, it’s created a powerful engine for ratings and cultural reach.

It’s a twofold strategy, where NBC and The Tonight Show approach the same opportunity from opposite ends. On the network side, NBC leverages its sports dominance as a lead-in for The Tonight Show, scheduling special episodes to funnel its biggest audiences into its late-night block. At the same time, Fallon has begun leaning heavily into using athletes, teams, and the culture surrounding sports as raw material for bits and sketches that tap fandoms for comedy – and it’s producing ratings results that are impossible to ignore.

‘The Tonight Show’ Focuses on Entertainment and Scores Big With Sports

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In his tenure as host of The Tonight Show, Fallon has radically shifted its focus, moving away from politics and honing in on pop culture, spending less time on sit-down interviews in favor of high-energy games, sketches, and musical segments that highlight the guests. It’s resulted in a lighter version of a late-night talk show, one that doesn’t rely on must-see interviews or controversial monologues for relevance. Instead, it appeals to a broader audience and taps the internet zeitgeist with snackable, Saturday Night Live-style bits.

No matter what type of program is scheduled after a big sporting event, it’s almost guaranteed to get a ratings boost. But because it’s such an accessible form of entertainment, The Tonight Show gets an astronomically bigger boost than any other late-night show on the air, and that’s why NBC began experimenting with special episodes after Sunday Night Football back in 2019. Last year, NBC started tapping SNF again, but as the show had already been pushing harder on sports independently, it began to take on a life of its own.

As NBC Dominates Sports, ‘The Tonight Show’ Dominates With Sports Fans

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The 2025-26 television season was a big one for NBC Sports, with a slate of events including both the first NBA games since 2002 and the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. For The Tonight Show​​, the post-SNF episodes once again drove season-high eyeballs; the Opening Ceremony attracted the most viewers in 14 months, and the NBA Western Conference Finals paired with the stars of Off Campus earned the fourth-highest linear ratings of the season. Meanwhile, on the internet, sports guests and coverage were driving up 900 million views.

The Tonight Show, which recently became the most-followed TV show on TikTok, has 100 million fans across its social platforms. It boasts the largest and most-engaged fanbase of any late-night program by far, and the viral cutdowns of skits and extended on-air interviews have kept the show culturally relevant during its worst ratings droughts. It’s also where the integration of more fan-first sports content is clearly visible, and the outrageously high likes, views, and shares prove on a more visceral level just how well it’s working for the show.

After a Superb Summer, Jimmy Fallon Kicks Off Fall in a Big Way

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In June, after the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years, The Tonight Show devoted an entire episode to a team takeover and earned the highest ratings without a lead-in all year. A month later, a week of World Cup programming combined with an appearance by the cast of The Odyssey earned the show the coveted top ratings slot with adults aged 18 to 49. But the viral World Cup moments didn’t just rule the airwaves; they also racked up nine-figure view counts in a long-tail wave across the web.

Coming off a strong summer, The Tonight Show hit its highest ratings since the Olympics last week after the first game of the NFL season. It wasn’t enough to overtake its biggest rival, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but despite the episode airing after midnight, it tripled its 18 to 49 audience numbers from the night before and doubled what Kimmel pulled in. What’s more interesting, though, is that despite the NFL season opener being down a whopping 11% from last year and delivering the lowest overall viewership since 2022, it earned the best audience of viewers 18 to 49 since 2021 – an audience that not only showed up for the season opener, but stuck around for Fallon.

At this point, it’s safe to say that using sports as a creative and programmatic strategy for The Tonight Show has been a worthwhile investment. Four more Sunday Night Football takeovers are scheduled for the NFL season, and we’re only weeks away from the MLB postseason and the start of new seasons for the NBA and NHL. Now that Fallon has earned the trust and respect of the most sought-after demo and the most ravenous fanbases, it’ll be interesting to see what new highs he takes the oldest late-night show to next.

Another night of touring is about to get tedious for Ed Sheeran!

As the musician is gearing up to perform in Philadelphia, some pro-Palestine groups in the state have also been canvassing to get the numbers high enough to boycott his performance.

Ed Sheeran was thrown in the middle of a controversy days ago after one of his opening acts, rapper Macklemore, got kicked off for picking Palestine’s side during a concert at MetLife Stadium.

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The songwriter is still dealing with the fallout from Macklemore’s exit from his tour, as some Palestine-leaning groups have said they plan to key into the ongoing protest. Macklemore’s removal from the rest of the tour struck a nerve, and Sheeran’s apolitical stance may have driven the nail in even further.

The Philly Palestine Coalition and Shut Down D&Z have begun beckoning on supporters to gather outside Lincoln Financial Field on September 19. They have shared flyers promoting the protests, which are designed to target billionaires and pro-zionists.

The group has declared that billionaires, Zionists, and those it describes as warmongers are not welcome in Philadelphia. As TMZ reported, Sheeran insisted the decision to send Macklemore off the show was not his call.

The Grammy winner clarified that the tour promoters made the call because several venues were displeased with Macklemore’s actions. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose company owns one of the performing stadiums, also confirmed his opposition to Macklemore performing at Gillette Stadium.

Opening Act Aaron Rowe Headed For The Door Following The End Of Macklemore’s Chapter

Right after Macklemore was removed from the tour lineup, his colleague Rowe also withdrew from the remaining show to stand in solidarity with the “Can’t Hold Us” rapper. As The Blast noted, Rowe described the decision as very difficult because of his personal relationship with Sheeran.

He recognized the “Shape of You” singer’s impact on his career, but continuing to perform on the tour with him would directly violate his personal principles. He referenced his background as an Irish man and how his people experienced genocide, starvation, and military occupation just like Gaza.

He believed that his performance would be hypocritical in the face of the belief that Israel has not been criticized enough. Rowe continued that his self-respect would only remain intact by stepping away from all remaining dates.

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The Macklemore Fallout Also Included Lukas Graham And Finneas

Macklemore earlier revealed that Kraft played politics by onboarding other billionaires and venue owners to join him in booting Macklemore from the lineup, or else attach a condition that Sheeran would be barred from performing at the locations. 

The Blast noted that after this revelation and the protests, Graham and Finneas also followed Rowe’s lead and announced their departure from the tour.

In his exit speech, Finneas reiterated that artists must not be gagged when they find their voice against oppressive systems. He declared his support for Palestine and its people, who have experienced inhumane treatment over the years from state and non-state actors.

As for Graham, he began by restating his gratitude to Sheeran for their time together, but emphasized that he grew up in a community that encouraged people to speak up, and that is what he has done. “Having more money didn’t make your opinion worth more than anyone else’s,” the “7 Years” singer stated.

The ‘Give Me Love’ Singer’s Band Affirmed Their Support For Macklemore

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After more than a decade of musical collaboration on projects and live performances during tours, Beoga, an Irish band, ended their collaboration with the singer on the “Loop Tour.” 

In an Instagram announcement, the group acknowledged the opportunity to perform alongside the singer for years, but said it was time to exit because the tour’s politics no longer align with their beliefs.

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Beoga referenced their role as founding members of the Irish Artists For Palestine movement and commitment to securing justice as another driving force behind their decision.

As for Sheeran, he explained that he was not a fan of the conflict between Palestine and Israel, and he has been communicating with venues to find an amicable way to resolve their issues with Macklemore.

He stressed that Macklemore’s contract was with the show’s promoters and that the decision to exclude him from the rest of the tour was solely their judgment. 

Ed Sheeran’s Private $2M Humanitarian Pledge Comes To Light Amid Macklemore Fallout

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The award-winning songwriter’s story has shone a new spotlight on a private effort from Sheeran to get Kraft to be a part of a private humanitarian effort.

While Macklemore’s charge to Kraft stole the headlines, the stadium owner said Sheeran had already approached him with a proposal to invest in a multi-million-dollar humanitarian scheme.

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Kraft said Sheeran had privately pledged $2 million to relief efforts in Palestine and asked him to join by matching the amount. Sheeran had previously said he had decided to keep his good deeds private, but much work often happens behind the scenes.

Kraft added that Sheeran had targeted other venue owners in his initiative, hoping that it would encourage co-operation and further humanitarian assistance. The businessman said he had joined several initiatives aimed at fostering interaction between Palestinians and Israelis through economic opportunities.